Can you expect the unexpected
by FanFictionerVince
Summary: 7 years after the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Naruto becomes the Rokudaime Hokage and now faces new ennemies and new adventures, that will draw him closer to the only person he would never have expected. Rated M to play it safe. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1: A new beginning

This is my first fanfiction and I hope you'll all enjoy it. Please review, I'd be happy to know how you liked it, what you prefered, didn't like, etc.

Of course, Naruto doesn't belong to me. All rights for the characters to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 1 : A new beginning

The sun was shining brightly over the fully rebuilt Hidden Leaf Village. On this hot summer day, all the inhabitants of Konoha, shinobis and civilians alike, were participating in festivities that were being held each years at that time since 7 years now: it was the celebration of the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

However, this year was even more special, especially for a certain blond ninja, as Naruto was finally going to be officially presented as the Rokudaime Hokage.

After the war, Naruto had been granted the title of Chuunin, as he played a major role in the victory of the Shinobi Allied Forces. The year after, Tsunade-sama had named him as her successor, and he began to learn the job with her. He had a small desk in the Godaime's office, and even though he only was her assistant, he actually ran the village while the Slug Princess was too drunk, or too hangover to do it herself...

2 years ago, he even passed the jounin exam, with the rest of his teammates. He was the first surprised of this outcome, has he had prepared himself a long time ago to become the first genin Hokage.

Now, Naruto was 23 years old, he had matured and now thought before he acted. He was definitely no more the knucklehead prankster he once was, even though he still had his stubbornness he was known for.

Over the years, he had earned the villagers respect, not only as the Hero of the Leaf, but as a hero of war, a leader, and now a Hokage. For the past weeks, the blond ninja had had trouble to sleep well, since he was so eager to finally see his dream come true.

On this sunny morning, he was terribly excited, but since the ceremony wasn't before late this evening, he figured he should relax a bit and enjoy the celebrations being held all day long, though he still had something to attend to before noon. He then slowly headed for the memorial stone, as he had for the past 7 years...

* * *

When the blond ninja arrived, Hinata and Shino were already there. "Why am I not surprised..." he thought, "she was always early when we dated..."

Naruto and the Hyuga heiress had dated for a couple month after the war. They had lived some intense emotional moments during it, not to mention during Pain's attack, which had drew them closer to one another. However, they realised after some time that they weren't meant for each other, and the lavender eyed girl concluded that her childhood crush wasn't the man of her life. However, they stayed very close friends, and Naruto had been so happy for her when she married Shino 3 years ago.

"How are you two lovebirds?" Naruto asked with a grin on his face.

"Feeling as well as one can while standing in this sad place", said the Aburame man, with his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Hello Naruto", said Hinata, with evident tear marks under her eyes. "You look... handsome in your new outfit." She stared at him, as he wore his new orange long-sleeve shirt and black pants.

"Thank you, but it'll be even better when I'll put my Hokage cloak as well tonight. What about your little joy?" He glanced at her big and round stomach. "When will we see her gorgeous little face?"

"Shizune-san said in 5 weeks." She rubbed her belly tenderly before she felt a little kick. "Ouch, she seems to have a lot of energy, just like her godfather", Hinata said looking again towards Naruto, who scratched the back of his lead with a silent laugh.

"Hey there!" shouted a voice behind them. As they turned, they saw Ino running towards them alongside Sai, Sasuke and Sakura. "You left the ANBU HQ so quickly, Shino..."

Shino, Ino and Sasuke had become ANBU 2 years ago, and with Sai, who was also the chief of the Intel department, they formed the best ANBU team of the Leaf. On the other hand, Sakura had been made assistant director of the Konoha hospital 4 years ago, while just 19 years old. With her, Shizune and the Godaime, it was now the best hospital of the Shinobi world.

Sasuke, who had returned to the Leaf after the war, had a more difficult time in the last few years. First, he was condemned to stay a genin all his life and had to stay in jail for a whole year. Then, he was released, but couldn't leave the village and be a shinobi for 3 more years. After this time, he hadn't get in any trouble and was permitted to become again a normal shinobi, and now, he was the first genin to become ANBU.

During those tough times, what had helped him to pull through had been the presence of his friends Naruto and Sakura. He had had 4 complete years to rethink about them and their bond, and he had managed to clear his mind and become the Sasuke he had been when he was younger. He opened his eyes as well on the pink kunoichi and on the care she gave him throughout those 4 years. Now, they had been married for 2 years.

Just after them came in Kiba, Lee and Tenten. The 3 of them were now forming a great team and had recently completed multiple S-rank missions, one after the other.

Finally, Chouji and Shikamaru arrived, late as always. For the last 5 years, the Nara man was assigned as the Leaf emissary in the Hidden Sand village, and Chouji had always traveled with him, as his best friend and body guard.

Since they hadn't been all together at the same time for a long while, they greeted each other, exchanged news, discussed a bit before getting to the point. They all turned towards the memorial stone and shut their mouth. It was quiet enough to hear a needle drop. The emotions were massive and strong, pressuring on their shoulders.

Shikamaru and Ino had managed, over the years, to develop a neutral face and were able to hide their feelings to their teammates, as they read over and over their fathers names on the stone. However, it wasn't as easy for Hinata and Tenten, the latest even had to hold on to Lee not to fall to her knees. Neji did miss to everyone present, but Tenten had lost a friend, a teammate and her first love. Even though she had never admitted it, to him nor to anyone else, she still suffered a lot from his death, still after 7 years.

After they washed away their tears, they split up, as lunch time was approaching. Most returned home but Naruto headed towards a certain ramen stand, and no one was surprised...

* * *

The evening breeze cooled the temperature enough to have everyone comfortable as the ceremony was about to begin. On top of the Hokage mansion stood Tsunade-sama, the Godaime, as well as Shizune and Sakura, and Naruto of course. Below them were the Leaf shinobis and villagers.

There were even some visitors from other countries. Naruto recognized Gaara, accompanied by his fiancé Matsuri, Kankuro and Temari. He saw Killer Bee there as well as Ay, and even old man Tsuchikage, with Akatsuchi and Kurotsushi.

As the ceremony begun, the Slug Princess started to talk first. "Good evening everyone. I'm glad to see so many familiar faces gathered here tonight. On this day we celebrate the end of one of the deadliest conflict in our history. We all know a friend, a parent, a loved-one who has died in this deadly war, and even after those years, the pain doesn't go away. Let's take a minute of silence in their memories." The village muted at her words, the silence only broken by the sounds of some people crying and sobbing.

"However, we are gathered here tonight for a more joyful reason" Tsunade continued. "A new Hokage has been named." The crowd screamed and whistle loudly. "It is not a surprise to anyone, as he had been chosen for some years now. However, starting at this minute, I present you the Rokudaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto!"

The crowd was hysterical. As Naruto put on the red and white cloak once worn by his father, he saw the inhabitants of the village, of HIS village, bursting with joy and happiness, and couldn't prevent but to let a tear out of his eyes. He walked forward and started his speech.

"Thank you everyone for all of this. Thank you." The crowd calmed down to let him talk. "I have dreamt of this day for as long as I can remember. I don't know what to say beside thank you for trusting me, moreover, for accepting me. It has not always been easy, and I think that the struggles I faced made me stronger. And as of this day, I promise all of you that I will give my life for this village, for all of its inhabitants, and to keep the peaceful times that the Shinobi world lives in as of this day."

The crowd roared as he barely finished his sentence. Might Guy and Lee jumped on top of the Hokage mansion and lifted him on their shoulders. He couldn't help and burst out laughing as he now enjoyed the moment he had imagined all his life.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto was feeling top of the world. He had woke up early, had time to take a quick shower and eat some instant noodles for breakfast before heading to his office in the Hokage mansion. He hadn't moved from his old apartment yet, so he left a couple minutes earlier to get there in time.

Slowly, he looked at the missions he would need to assign today, and picked the best teams to succeed them. Everything was now in order and he was ready to receive the teams in his office... but he hadn't realised in which state they'd come in!

As Tenten's team entered, Naruto quickly realised that they weren't in their best form. Kiba and Lee were very tired, as they had seemed to celebrate all night long the nomination of their friend as Hokage. On top of that, Tenten presented all the sign of a hangover: she wasn't standing very straight, seemed to have a headache and every slightly loud sound made her cringe.

"It's true, after the commemoration, she always drowns her pain in sake", Naruto thought to himself. He quickly reviewed his assignments list and then spoke.

"You guys don't seem to be in very good shape. As for today, I understand why and I will give you an easy mission. You will patrol the western frontier of the village, in the forest." He handed the kunoichi their mission assignment on a small scroll. "It's only a C-rank mission, but I better never see you again in this state on duty. Is that clear?"

Naruto surprised himself as he heard those words come out of his mouth. He never would have believed to say those words. Maybe hear them, but not say them... "Be careful" he added as they left.

"Yeah, it's alright, Hokage-sama", said Kiba with a voice that had always annoyed the blond shinobi. "It's just a C-rank mission after all" added Lee as they left his office.

"Those guys will never learn..." Naruto thought as he remembered his first C-rank mission in the Land of Waves. He then asked Kotetsu to bring in the next team in, and hoped they would be more ready for a day of work...

* * *

Around 11:00, he had finished assigning the missions, and took a couple minutes to relax a little. It wasn't the first time he had done so, considering the multiple drinking nights the Godaime had had the past years. However, it felt different today. And it felt good.

As he was about to leave for a quick lunch at Ichiraku's, Kotetsu entered his office. "Hokage-sama, Hatake Kakashi wishes to speak with you."

"Alright, let him in. And please, call me Naruto, like you used to, Kotetsu."

"Yes Hoka... I mean Naruto." He left as the copy-ninja entered the room.

"Hey there Naruto. How does it feel to be officially the Hokage?" Kakashi asked.

"It's pretty cool", answered Naruto. "But why do the ANBU chief leaves his office to come and speak to me in person?"

"We have received some disturbing infos from Ino and Shino. It seems that there are some unknown shinobis coming from the Land of Rivers that are heading towards Konoha. There has been mention of attacks as well in the Land of Rivers and along our mutual borders. I first sent a small squad to follow them, but I have not received any news from them."

"This doesn't sound good" Naruto replied. "I sent Tenten's team on patrol there, but they were not in an optimal shape. I better send them some backups, right?" As he spoke, a small cloud of bugs buzzed at Kakashi's ear, and then his face turned to a worried expression.

"I think we'll need more than backups! I sent, myself, Shino and Ino on the field to investigate, and this is their reports. They found Lee and Kiba passed out in the forest, with no sign of Tenten."

"Damn it. Where are Sasuke and Sai right now?" Naruto shouted as he got up to take his cloak.

"They're at the HQ. Why do you ask? Do you mean to..." He couldn't finish that Naruto had cut him mid-sentence.

"Yes. I'll go get Sakura. We're leaving in 10 minutes." He barely had time to finish that he was already outside the office and running towards the hospital.

"If those two were crushed, even in their bad state, it means we're not facing the usual thugs. What a first day!" Naruto thought, as he jumped from roof to roof to get to the medic-kunoichi.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

This is it for the first chapter. The second one is almost ready and should be online in a couple days max. Please review. I want to know how others fell about it.


	2. Chapter 2: New enemies

Here is the second chapter of my first fanfic. Pleasre review, tell me what you like, disliked, etc. I always like to read the reviews I receive.

Once again, Naruto doesn't belong to me. All rights to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 2 : New enemies

Sakura had just started her day at the hospital. She had a lot of patients to treat as well as 2 surgeries in the afternoon. She got out of her office and towards the emergency room, putting her white medic coat on, when she heard a very familiar voice shout in the lobby.

"Sakura? Where are you? We need to go, right now. SAKURA?" Naruto yelled as he entered the hospital.

"Hokage-baka!" Sakura ran towards Naruto and punched him in the back of the head. "It doesn't matter to me if you're a Hokage or a dumbass, or both for that matter. You DO NOT scream in a hospital." she told him.

"I'm sorry Sakura, but we'll discuss this later. For now, you must come with me. There are some unknown dangerous ninjas around the village. They've knocked unconscious Kiba and Lee, and they seem to have captured Tenten..."

"What... It's impossible! They're one of our strongest ninja team!" she answered, almost speechless.

"They weren't in good shape. Kiba and Lee celebrated too much last night and, well, Tenten... It's like each year, you know..."

"You're right... But I cannot leave the hospital right now, I have appointments and surgeries today. I can't leave my patients and..."

She was cut by the Slug Princess. "It's alright", said Tsunade. "I have more free time now. I'll take care of them. Listen to your Hokage, young women." she said in an almost motherly voice.

"Thank you baa-chan." said Naruto. "Now Sakura, pack your stuff, we're leaving as soon as you're ready.

* * *

In less than 10 minutes, Naruto and Sakura were at the main gate of the Leaf, joined by Sai and Sasuke. The 4 of them had worked together in the past few years and were definitely the best team of Konoha. Before leaving for their rescue mission, Naruto spoke to his teammates.

"Alright. We do not know how strong our opponents will be, nor how many they are. What we do know, is that they have beat Kiba and Lee, and most likely, captured Tenten. This is a search and rescue mission. A-rank. Are we ready?"

"Baka." Sasuke sighed. "Let's just shut up and go already!"

"I'd guess that this means we're ready." said Sai calmly.

"Great! We'll follow the directions given to us by Shino's bugs and we'll be there in no time. Let's fly!"

The 4 of them disappeared in a blur, heading to save their comrades.

* * *

A couple minutes later, they arrived to the site of the attack. Shino was standing in between Lee's and Kiba's bodies. As they landed next to him, Sakura started right away to check on the two injured ninjas.

"Shino, you're OK? Where's Ino?" Naruto asked. Shino took off his spider-like ANBU mask to talk.

"I have not been harmed. I stayed here to protect those two. My kikai bugs are patrolling around the area. Ino followed Tenten's track. It led her to a cave nearby. She's trying to locate her and bring back some intels on her aggressors."

"Good job." Naruto said, before turning towards his 3 other teammates. "Sakura, you'll stay here. Finish to administer first aid, than escort Lee and Kiba to Konoha with Shino. Sai and Sasuke, we will find Ino and then save Tenten. Spread out!"

Once again, 3 shadows left in a blur, leaving the pink kunoichi with the Aburame behind.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka had been spying on the group of ninjas that had attacked Tenten's team for about 30 minutes now. She found out that the inside of the cave was like a labyrinth, and was lucky enough to follow some of them through the maze. Knowing that her comrades would eventually follow, she left some chakra clues to guide them, hoping an ANBU member would be in the group to locate them.

When she finally arrived to the big room where everyone had gathered, she spotted a rat in one corner. It was everything she needed. "Shitenshin no Jutsu", she whispered. The Mind Body Switch technique worked perfectly, as she transferred herself into the animal, while having her inert body well hidden in a dark corner of the room.

She slowly traveled around the room, scanning it in her mind. "4, 5, 6. Plus 3 over there, 9. And those 2 in the corner. They are 11." she thought to herself. "They don't wear hitai-ite. Are they rogues ninjas, or simple thugs?"

She thought about it, but realized they couldn't be plain ordinary thugs since they managed to beat Lee and Kiba, and kidnap Tenten as well. "Thinking about her, where is she? Where do they keep Tenten?" Ino could feel her presence, but it was quite weak.

On her left, she saw a small wooden door, and as she kept moving closer, she sensed Tenten's presence a little more with each steps. She had to be behind there. For now, she couldn't enter, but she got near enough to be able to hear what was happening inside.

"I'm telling you, she won't wake up anytime soon", said a mysterious high pitched voice. "She has been knocked out pretty good. Maybe in an hour or two, if we're lucky."

"We don't have time to wait. I'll just wake her up myself." answered another manly voice.

She then heard slapping sounds, followed by a small moaning. "Will you wake up already?" repeated the same voice. Then there was a loud smacking sound that made everyone in the big room turn their head.

"Aye. My cheek... But... Where am I..." Ino immediately recognized Tenten's voice. She was happy to know she was still alive, and seemed to be feeling well, in those circumstances. But her joy was quickly replaced by fear as she overheard one of the man in the big room talk. "What is this thing in the corner. It looks like a body or something..."

"Damn it." Ino thought before cancelling her jutsu to return to her body. She stayed still, even though she could hear some footsteps coming towards her.

A big figure quickly bent over her body. "It's a Leaf ninja. And an ANBU member on top of that! Is it still alive?" said one of the men. "Look at that mask! It looks just like a deer, I would say. Wonder how it got here..."

The next instant, he was sent flying across the room by a strong kick from the kunoichi. "To answer your questions, I followed you here, and yes, I'm still alive." sais a cocky Ino. "And what do you have against my mask?"

Although the 11 ninjas stayed still for a moment, having been surprised by the blond kunoichi, they quickly rushed towards her with their weapons drawn. Ino ducked down to avoid a punch to her head, then sent a twisting kick that made her enemy fall to the ground. She got up, did a couple backward somersault, and stood up facing the 10 other ninjas.

Suddenly, the small door burst open and a tall shinobi, shouted. He was wearing a Hidden Mist hitai-ite with a long deep blue kimono. "What the hell is all this noise? And... Who the hell is she?"

"An intruder from the Hidden Leaf, sir. She must have followed one of us in", answered one of the ninjas.

"Get rid of her, quickly. She is surely not alone." He then turned towards the door. "Hotaru, get the prisoner and follow me. We'll keep interrogating her in the back room."

"Yes, Maki-sama." The voice was the one of a short kunoichi, wearing a Hidden Grass hitai-ite. She had a forest green long sleeve shirt, deep blue pants and had a long katana in her back. She was pulling a gagged and attached Tenten behind her.

Ino tried to follow them to save her friend, but her path was blocked by the other ninjas. "We won't let her pass! We swear it on our life and honor, Maki-sama!" said one of them.

Ino grabbed some shurikens from her weapon pouch and threw them towards her enemies. 3 of them fell on the ground right away, and Ino saw Maki and Hotaru leaving into a hidden door in the far side wall.

She couldn't track them through the hidden path as she was surrounded by the 7 remaining ninjas. She quickly jumped backward to avoid the kunai that were being thrown at her legs and landed on the ninja behind her. She put her hand on his shoulder and pushed herself to the left in order to send another flying across the room with a blazing kick. Doing so, the one on which she landed was pushed right into one of his comrade, knocking the 2 unconscious. "Four more to go", she thought.

However, while still in the air, she saw some kunais flying right towards her face. "Damn! I can't avoid those. I'll have to sacrifice an arm to block them, or else I'll rejoin my father quicker than expected..."

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke and Sai were progressing quickly through the maze-like cave. The 2 ANBU had quickly noticed the chakra clues left by the blonde kunoichi and were following her trail at a fast pace.

Suddenly, they started to hear fighting sounds coming from what seemed to be the end of the long corridor they had followed. They sped up, knowing Ino was most likely involved in the fight.

As they were about to enter what seemed to be a large enlightened room, Sai took out his scroll and brush. "Ninja-Art: Super Beasts Scroll", he whispered. Two big lions then appeared from his drawings and ran towards the room roaring.

* * *

The next thing she knew, Ino was lifted upward as the kunai aiming at her head went flying under her. She was now on top of an ink lion that she had got to know during the past few years. A second one was now attacking the ninja responsible for the thrown kunais, shredding him to pieces.

When she touched the floor again, she saw 3 familiar faces entering the room. She couldn't prevent herself to blush when she saw Sai's face. "He saved me... again." she thought.

"Ino, are you alright?" shouted Naruto. The blonde kunoichi regained her senses before answering.

"Yes, I'm fine. But they took Tenten away, through a hidden passage in that wall. We must catch up to them!"

"Ok, I know what to do." said the Hokage, before turning to his teammate. "Sai, immobilize those 3, give me a little time."

Sai quickly nodded and created 3 ink snakes. The creatures wrapped themselves around the ninjas, preventing them to move even a small finger. Naruto had summoned multiples clones as they began to search for the entrance of the secret passage.

After about a minute, one of them signaled that he had found the way, but that the door was sealed. Naruto then dismissed all his clones but one and begun forming a rasengan. As the blue chakra orb was spinning fast in his hand, he hit the point marked by the clone in the wall and the hidden passage burst open.

They were about to enter it when Sasuke told them to look behind. The last 3 ninjas had managed to free themselves from Sai's snakes and 4 others had regained consciousness.

"It seems like we still have a fight to finish. Those are not the usual thugs we face, but very well trained shinobis." said the Uchiha.

"Very well. You three continue on. I'll stop them." Ino said, already in her fighting stance.

"Count me in as well", said Sai, surprising the other Leaf ninjas. "They almost got you once, I won't let them try again."

Ino blushed slightly at his response, but stayed focus on their opponents. "Perfect. Sasuke, Naruto. Keep going. Go save Tenten. We'll catch up." she said.

In a blink of an eye, the former Team 7 members rushed through the passage while Ino and Sai launched themselves towards their enemies.

"Hang on Tenten. We're coming for you." said the Hokage to himself. "Hang on..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

The third chapter is basically ready. Just need some more time, maybe a day or two, and I'll post it. Again, please review! Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3: To save a friend

Here is the third chapter of my first fanfiction. Once again, please review. I want to know what's good, what isn't, what you liked or disliked.

Of course, I do not own Naruto. All rights to Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 3: To save a friend

Naruto and Sasuke were running as fast as they could, sending huge amount of chakra to their legs and feet to accelerate their pace. The corridor they were following didn't seem to have an end, as they had been running for 10 good minutes straight.

"When the hell will we catch up to them." said the blond shinobi to himself. "They can't be moving faster than us, not while carrying a prisoner like that!"

"You're right, we must be close." answered the Uchiha. "Hey Naruto, why don't you enter in Kurama chakra mode? You'll be able to detect their presence, won't you?"

Naruto nodded and, in a blink of an eye, he transformed. He scanned the area around them and, all of a sudden, he stopped. Sasuke did the same a couple meters further.

"What do you sense?" asked the Sharingan wielder.

"It's an ambush. I know it, I feel it." answered the Hokage. "Someone is waiting for us to fall in some traps or something, well hidden in the shadows."

Suddenly, a form appeared from one of the walls. As it started approaching them, the two Leaf ninjas switched to their fighting stance, Naruto's hands already in his Kage Bunshin sign.

"Well well, it seems I was discovered easily. Maki-sama will not be happy about it." said the form, still in the shadows. "Your powers are wonderful, I must say, Leaf ninjas."

As it was talking, the mysterious form moved forward, finally revealing itself in the dim light. It turned out to be a female shinobi from Kusa. "However, now I must fulfill my duties and eliminate both of you. Those are the orders of Maki-sama."

Sasuke stepped forward, a small smile on his face. "You won't even be able to defeat one of us." He then turned towards Naruto. "I'll take care of her and then catch up to you quickly. Keep going."

"Alright." said Naruto. As he was about to leave, the Hidden Grass ninja stepped in front of him.

"I'm afraid I can't let you go. I must stop and kill all the intruders following Maki-sama. Those are his orders."

Naruto let a small grin show on his face. "We'll see about that. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A dozen of Naruto appeared next to the original. "Try to catch us all!" they shouted.

Lots of them started running in the long corridor. As they ran pass their opponents, the Kusa shinobi threw well aimed kunais and hit every single one of them, who then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Wow, you can beat some shadow clones! You're not as weak as you seemed. Now let's see if you can hit the real one!" Naruto said as he started running at full speed.

Once again, he passed her easily, just as she took some shurikens out of her weapon pouch. She turned 180º and threw them at him. Sasuke had a small grin then rushed towards her.

When she saw the Uchiha, it was already too late. He had already pierced her left shoulder with his blade. She had a surprised look on her face. "You're very fast. Why didn't you save your friend with that speed?" she asked.

She heard a small noise behind her and understood. "It's because it was just another clone." said Sasuke while Naruto ran passed them. "How can you be so naïve?"

Naruto didn't even bother to look behind him. He knew his former teammate would crush this opponent in no time. Now, he had to look forward. It was his job, as the Hokage, to save Tenten. He just had to believe in his friends that stayed back.

* * *

Sai and Ino were still fighting the 7 remaining ninjas in the grand room. The walls, ceiling and floor were full of kunais and shurikens, as the two camp seemed to be really exhausted.

The 2 Leaf shinobis shared a look and knew exactly what was going on. In a 2 against 7 fight, they needed to finish this quickly or they would be too tired to continue, and then they would be overwhelmed by their opponents.

The blonde kunoichi decided to take care of things. She took her long ANBU katana and ran towards her enemies. As they were in her range of attack, smoke bomb exploded and they were all hidden from Sai's view.

Ino swung her katana left and right, where she thought she sensed an enemy presence. However, when the smoke cleared, she was surrounded by the ninjas, who had form a tight circle around her. She could easily take 2 or 3 of them on, but she'd definitely loose against all 7 of them. In the corner of her eye, she saw Sai's body lying against a wall, all bloody from deep wounds on his chest.

"Damn it." she thought. "How could they have beaten Sai so easily! The smoke was blinding us only for a minute or so!"

Now, she was really feeling depressed. "If I'm all alone against all of them, I will at least take down the maximum of them before I die. I'll make the job easier for Naruto and Sasuke." Ino said to herself. She grabbed a soldier pill from her pouch, swallowed it and rushed towards the closest ninja.

* * *

Sasuke and the mysterious girl had been fighting for a while now. Even though she only had one arm active, she was wielding her sword like a master. Each time one of them attacked, the other would block and sparks would fly from the contact of both blades.

"You're definitely good with your katana." said the Sharingan wielder. "I would like to know who I am facing, and I'm sure you would too. My name is Uchiha Sasuke. What's yours?"

"My name is Hotaru." she responded. "But I already knew your name. I know you, even though you don't remember me."

"I should?" asked Sasuke. "Where have we met before?"

"I was a prisoner, 9 years ago, at the hideout near the Hidden Grass village."

"You were... What! A prisoner of Orochimaru? But how did you escape? I thought the hideout had been destroyed by... Oh no. That means..." said the Uchiha, understanding what happened.

"Yes. Maki-sama, who was responsible of the hideout, saved me before a riot destroyed the whole place."

"Damn it. And this guy hated me. Now I understand why he captured Tenten. He wants to attack the Hidden Leaf!"

"I'm afraid I cannot give you this information. Even though you will die anyway." The girl barely finished her sentence and she was already launching herself at her opponent, slicing him from his right shoulder to his left leg. However, when she turned around to see him, she only saw a log cut in two halves. "Substitution Jutsu. Not bad." she said.

The last Uchiha appeared behind her, his katana surrounded by the blue electricity of his Raiton technique. "Now that I know what you guys are up to, I cannot let you continue according to your plans. You will not live to see another day." he said, activating his Mangekyô Sharingan.

* * *

Ino stopped suddenly as she saw, in the corner of her eye, a dozen ink lion running towards her enemies. She just had time to move back, doing a back somersault, to get out of the lion lane, as it shredded one of the ninjas in pieces. She could just stare as they destroyed the enemies around her.

She turned around and saw Sai, perfectly healthy, standing with his scroll open and his brush in his hand. "Sai! I thought they had killed you! Your body was covered in wounds, and all bloody!" she said, running to him with her eyes wet.

He stared at _his_ wounded body and it turned back into ink. "It was just an ink clone. I needed them to lower their guard. It seems to have worked." said the black haired man before he collapsed to the ground.

"SAI!" yelled Ino. She moved quickly to grab him before he hit the floor. She slapped gently his face to have him regain consciousness, which he did after a couple minutes.

"Damn it Sai. Don't make me believe your dead twice in about 5 minutes! You'll give me a heart attack!" Ino said before blushing and looking at the ground. "I... I don't know what I'd do without you around..."

"I'm sorry. I was very tired already, and I had to give way too much chakra to my clone to be realistic. Otherwise, it would have turned back to ink right away. They needed to believe I was dead." said the boy.

"It's alright, I understand. I just got scared." Suddenly, coming back to her senses, Ino helped her teammate up to his feet. "Now that we're done here, we must catch up to the others. Here, swallow this soldier pill. It'll give you a boost of energy, at least enough to finish the mission."

Sai ate the small pill, felt energized and they both took off through the hidden passage Naruto and Sasuke had followed before.

* * *

It didn't took long for Sasuke to defeat his enemy. She had already been stabbed in a shoulder, making her left arm unable to move properly. Now, Hotaru had her back against the wall, while being prisoner of the Uchiha's Genjutsu. "You will not stop me. I will stop YOU!" he said.

He pierced her right shoulder with his katana filled with his Raiton jutsu. Not only both her arms were immobilized, but her whole body was slowly turning numb from the electricity in the shinobi's blade.

"Maki-sama was right. You are indeed a strong opponent." said the Kusa girl. "I guess I failed my mission..."

Sasuke nodded, sheathed his katana, and was about to leave to catch up with Naruto. However, he stopped when the kunoichi spoke again.

"Are you not going to kill me?" she asked him. "You've beaten me fair and square. Why would you spare my miserable life?"

"I don't kill people for pleasure. I kill only when it's necessary. Your wounds are not lethal, but you'll be paralysed for at least 6 hours. This will leave us enough time to complete our mission and leave this place." explained the Sharingan wielder.

"But I'm your enemy. I wanted to kill you. Why don't you?"

"Did you really wanted to kill us?" asked the Uchiha. "Or did Maki ordered you to?"

Since the kunoichi couldn't answer, Sasuke continued. "That's what I thought. You'll have plenty of time to rethink about your relationship with your master. When you'll be able to move again, you'll chose whether you go back to him, or you go your own way."

Hotaru collapsed to the ground, passed out from the pain and exhaustion. "Take your time. Believe me, this reflection is worth the while. I've just realised it a little too late in my life..." Sasuke whispered before dashing in the corridor, following Naruto's track.

* * *

Tenten had some trouble staying awake. She was hurt and had her chakra depleted from her first fight in the morning, when her team was ambushed. Now, she was tied up, gagged and had been separated from her weapons and scrolls.

Some moments earlier, the man called Maki and his ally Hotaru had tried to get some information from her, but were cut short by Ino's arrival. Tenten had recognized her voice, but knew too well that she alone wouldn't be able to beat all those skilled ninjas. So, she really was feeling down in the dumps. She was alone and didn't know what had happened to Kiba, Lee and Ino.

Suddenly, Maki and her stopped moving forward and the weapon master was thrown on the ground. Her head hit the concrete floor and she was feeling dizzier than ever. Her vision blurred, but she still managed to avoid to pass out.

"So. Where were we?" said Maki. "Oh, that's right. I wanted to know how much ninjas were in activity in Konoha." He removed the piece of cloth that was muzzling her. "Now answer, my patience has reached its limits."

Tenten took a couple deep breath as her mouth was liberated. "I... won't answer... that." she mumbled. "Do whatever... you want, I'll stay... shut."

"You stupid girl." He slapped her in the face as hard as he could. Tenten flew across the room and hit the wall. She didn't think she could be even dizzier, but she did, which caused her to throw up. A small stream of blood was flowing from over her right eye and down her face, until it stained her clothes.

"I will repeat myself one last time." said Maki angrily, taking out a kunai. "How many ninjas are active as of now in Konoha. Answer!" he yelled at her.

Her mouth numbed from the previous hit, she couldn't speak a word. As an answer, she spat at his feet.

"So, that's how you want to act? As a hero?" Maki whispered at the kunoichi. "Then I'll kill you right now, with no one to hear you scream, no one to save you. You'll die unknown, as a zero." He lifted his arm to stab Tenten when he was stopped by a voice.

"Move away from her." said the voice coming from the entrance of the room. "Move away or I'll kill you myself!"

Tenten's vision had become even worse, but she could see a tall form, covered in a white veil. "Neji... is that you..." she thought to herself.

"Who are you to dare speak those words to me? Identify yourself!" yelled Maki at the man standing in front of her.

"I'm the Sixth Hokage of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto." he answered, his white Hokage cloak surrounding him."

Tenten's eyes widened. "Naruto! He came all this way for me?!" she thought.

"Well, the pleasure's mine. My name is Maki, from the Kusa hideout. I was in charge there when Lord Oro..."

Naruto cut him mid-sentence with a Rasengan to his stomach that sent Maki flying into the farthest wall. "I don't give a damn who you are, or where you come from. If you attack my village, my people, I will destroy you. Plain and simple." Naruto shouted at him.

Maki tried to get up onto his feet, but was smacked again onto the wall, with Naruto's hand grasping his neck.

"You can still move after my Rasengan! Not bad." He tightened his grasp, choking the man. "You know what, I changed my mind. I will leave you alive. Go back to wherever you come from, and tell your damn friends that the Hidden Leaf is stronger than ever, and that if anyone was to attack it, they would face the strongest Hokage in its history."

Having finished to talk, he threw Maki on the ground, and pressed on a small nerve in his neck. He passed out immediately. Sakura had teach that to Naruto a couple month before, and he would have to thank her for it. However, he had more important matter to take care of and ran towards Tenten.

"Tenten, are you alright?" he whispered to the brunette. "I'll bring you back to Konoha right away."

"Why... why did you, of all people... came to save me?" she managed to mumble.

"Why?! Because you are part of my village, of my people! And moreover, you're one of my dearest friend." He smiled. "And I will never abandon a friend of mine. Never..."

He took her in his arms, bridal style, very carefully not to hurt her even more. Tenten saw his face up close, his smile, his bright blue eyes. She felt safe and let her guard down. She fell asleep, her head resting on his shoulder.

Naruto was turning back to travel towards the exit of the cave when Ino, Sai and Sasuke arrived. "You guys are alright too?" he asked and they all nodded. "Perfect. Now let's quickly bring her back to the hospital. Her life doesn't seem threatened, but she's badly hurt."

The little group nodded and they all left together.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

This is it. Next chapter is halfway done. Next week it should be uploaded. Please remember to leave a review. Tell me what you liked, or what your expectations are. It's very useful to me, especially since it's my first fanfic.


	4. Chapter 4: Realisation

Here it is. Chapter 4. Hope you enjoy. Again, please review. I always like it.

Again, all rights for the characters and the universe to Masashi Kishimoto!

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 4: Realisation

Sai, Ino, Sasuke and Naruto, who was carrying the still fast asleep Tenten, were already to the main gate of Konoha. There, already waiting for them, were Kakashi, Might Guy and Sakura. The pink kunoichi walked to them.

"Are you all fine? And what about her?" she asked the group.

"We're all OK. Small injuries, that's all." said Naruto, while his 3 comrades nodded. "However, Tenten needs to get to the hospital right away." Sakura agreed and they both left with the injured kunoichi, leaving the others behind.

"What happened to her?" asked the Noble Green Beast.

"She was indeed captured, and it seems they wanted some information out of her." answered Ino. "They interrogated her and she got injured in the process."

"I see." said Guy. "But she's a strong girl, and her power of Youth will keep her in good shape, just like Lee!"

"Talking about Lee, how is he right now? And Kiba?" asked Sasuke to Kakashi.

"They are doing good. They suffered multiple injuries and wounds, but were carried quickly to the hospital. They're still in there, but their state is stable. Maybe in 2 or 3 days, they'll be back on the job, according to Shizune." answered the copy ninja.

"Those news are a relief, I must say." said Sai. Everyone nodded, and they began walking towards the hospital.

* * *

As soon as Naruto and Sakura entered the hospital doors, they brought Tenten to the nearest emergency room. Already waiting for them were Shizune and 2 other nurses. They laid Tenten's body on the bed and the medic ninjas started right away their check-up, Shizune working on her upper body and Sakura on the lower part.

As Naruto saw her inert body lying on the bed, he realised how weak and fragile she was. Back in their youth, when she was in Team Guy, she had seemed like the strongest kunoichi he had ever seen, with maybe Temari. But now, she was fighting for her life, and couldn't move even a finger. He realised he needed to protect her. "She suffered too much already, I won't let anything more happen to her" he thought to himself, before Shizune's voice brought him back to reality.

"Wow, she got certainly beat up. She has broken ribs, bruises all over her arm and her face, a small concussion... And on top of that, she suffers from heavy chakra depletion." told Shizune to her young colleague.

"Yes, and it's pretty bad down there as well. Lots of bruises, one broken foot..." added Sakura. "But there is more. Naruto, please exit the room, we will get started with the operation."

Before he could react, the nurses had closed the door on him, and he was left alone in the corridor. "I wonder what she meant. What is more?" he thought. "Anyway, it's not the time to have an argument. I'll talk to her when they're done. Now, let's pay a visit to Lee and Kiba."

* * *

As Naruto stepped inside Lee and Kiba's room, everyone inside turned their head to greet him. Sai, Sasuke, Ino, Kakashi and Guy were there, speaking with the 2 patients, both wide awake.

"Hey there Naruto" said Kakashi. "What's with Tenten?"

"She's getting treated as we speak by Shizune and Sakura." answered Naruto. "She was in bad shape, but they'll manage to heal her well, I'm sure of it!" he added, not telling anyone about Sakura's mysterious words. Especially not Kiba and Lee.

"Good to hear" sighed the Inuzuka.

"Yeah, we were getting worried." added Lee.

"Talking about that, Bushy Brow, make me your report about this morning's event." said the Hokage in a serious voice.

"Well, everything happened very fast." told him Lee. "We were patrolling along the village's border and everything seemed fine. No enemy presence, nothing suspicious of any kind."

"Yeah, and I couldn't smell any odor I didn't know as well!" added Kiba.

"Exactly, so nothing to worry about, until we were surrounded by, maybe, 10 ninjas." continued Lee. "They attacked us from all side, but at this point, we had managed to hold on. Then, my memory becomes shaded, but I think we were under a Genjutsu. After that, blank. When I woke up, I was in the hospital."

"Actually, I have some more memories than you Lee." said Kiba. "It was indeed a Genjutsu, but it was flawless! I stopped my chakra flow for a second or so, just like Kurenai sensei had showed us back in the days. However, I didn't snapped out of it!"

Everyone was horrified by Kiba's tale. How was it possible? A Genjutsu alters the chakra flow in one's body to make him hallucinate and loose grasp on the reality. How could it continue even with Kiba's chakra flow interrupted?! "You must have failed Kiba. That's impossible!" told him Sasuke.

"Actually, I think I know why it didn't work." continued the dog tamer. "Even though I stopped my chakra flow, I sensed like another chakra was inside of me. Like if the user of the jutsu had transferred some of HIS chakra into me to realise his Genjutsu..."

"What..." said Naruto before turning toward his former sensei. "Kakashi, have you ever heard of a jutsu of that sort?"

"Actually, yes. And if I'm right, we may be in some heavy trouble..." told him the copy ninja. "We'll meet in your office tonight. We need to discuss." Just as he was finished, he disappeared in a blur. After he left, there was a long silence between the fellow shinobis.

"OK..." said Kiba awkwardly. "Anyway, what happened when you guys followed our enemies?"

Ino started explaining how she and Shino had found them, how she followed Tenten's traces inside the cave, her fight inside the big room, etc. Sai and Sasuke reported their own battle, followed by Naruto's encounter with Maki.

"And you both let them live?!" shouted Kiba at Naruto and Sasuke. "What kind of ninjas are you?!"

"Calm down", said Lee to his teammate. "I'm sure they had their reason, right guys?"

"Of course" answered Sasuke. "My opponent wasn't there because she wanted it. She felt she had a dept towards that Maki guy. And I know better than anyone what having a second chance can make in someone's life..."

"And I wanted to pass my message. That the Leaf is strong. Stronger than ever. I wanted those criminals to be aware of it. Maybe this will prevent a deadly confrontation with them." added Naruto.

Just as he finished talking, a nurse entered the room. "The operation is finished. Hokage-sama, Sakura wishes to speak with you." she said.

"Alright, I'm on my way." he told her as he exited the room.

* * *

Naruto entered Sakura's office and knew right away something was wrong. She had a sad expression on her face, a face he wish he had seen less often.

"What's going on?" asked the blond shinobi. "Was the operation alright?"

"Yes, everything went well. She is still sleeping, but she should be on her feet in about 3 or 4 days." she said with a small smile. "However, that's not why I wanted to talk to you" she added, becoming serious again.

"Alright. So what is it?" said Naruto.

"First of all, you have to know something. The only reason why I'm giving you this information is because you're the Hokage. But no one else should know about this. This is some private business." told him Sakura.

"Come on. Stop the suspense already and tell me." replied Naruto, visibly worried.

She sighed before speaking again. "Since she had been kidnapped, we had to follow the protocol, and therefore made a complete check-up on her. We checked everything from her outside wounds, her organs, her chakra network, and her... private parts down below..."

Naruto understood too well where his friend was going with this. "Do you mean that..."

"Yes" answered the pink kunoichi. "It seems she was indeed raped."

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT" yelled the Hokage. "Like she needed more suffering in her life. I swear if I find whoever did this, I'll... ARGH!" He got up furiously, throwing the table and the chairs around him, until his friend grabbed his arm.

"Calm down now. We don't want to create a commotion." she said. "Now, I think she doesn't know it. From what we saw, she didn't seem to have fought against it, so she was probably still unconscious when it happened."

As he heard that, Naruto felt his blood boiling inside of him, but Sakura calmed him again as she continued. "I think you should let me or Shizune tell her. Pretend I never told you this. Keep it to yourself, and if she feels ready to talk about it, she'll tell you herself."

"Fine." he said in a sigh. "But if I ever cross his damn road..."

"I know", she told him. "I know how you protect your friends. And I wouldn't want to harm any myself!" she added with a grin.

This made Naruto smile a little as he left her office to rejoin his. There was a lot of work to do, and not much time left until night time...

* * *

As she saw him exiting her office, Sakura had a small smile on her face.

"The last time I saw this expression on his face, I was the one he swore to protect" she thought. "Does he, maybe... I guess will see about that eventually..." she laughed silently and got back to her duties.

* * *

Around 9 PM, Kakashi knocked at the Hokage's office door. There were no answers. Forgetting about the protocol, he just opened the door and smiled. Naruto was fast asleep, his head resting on top of a pile of papers. The copy ninja laughed loudly, which woke up the blond shinobi.

"AH! Heu... What time is it?!" shouted the Hokage, visibly surprised.

"I see" sighed the silver-haired Jounin. "You're indeed the successor of Tsunade. Sleeping on the job like this... I hope you're not drunk at least!"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny sensei." said Naruto, slightly irritated. "But I have to say, it has been a long day..."

"Indeed." replied Kakashi. "Do you want me to come back later or can we talk now?"

Remembering their earlier discussion, the Rokudaime Hokage piled up neatly his paperwork on the side of his desk and invited his guest to sit in front of him.

"So, Kakashi, what do you know about this Genjutsu?" he asked him seriously.

"Actually, not that much. However, my sensei, your father, used to talk to me about a perfect Genjutsu, perfected in the Hidden Mist" said Kakashi. "According to him, the user would fill his opponent with his own chakra through his tenketsu. The only way to evade this technique would be to expel the foreign chakra from the chakra network."

"And do you know how to do that?" asked Naruto.

"Unfortunately, not. I went at the ANBU library to make some research, but I've found nothing" told him his former sensei. "But I think I know someone, or should I say something, that could give you an answer."

"Yeah. You're right!" said the Hokage thoughtfully.

* * *

"That damn Hokage. He will pay for that..."

Maki slowly got up to his feet. His stomach was hurting like hell and he still had a hard time breathing properly after he got choked by the blond shinobi. "Hotaru. Where the hell are you Hotaru." he yelled towards the long corridor.

All of a sudden, she appeared, out of the shadows. "Here I am, Maki-sama." she whispered, both her arms, motionless, hanging on the side of her body. "I'm sorry I couldn't..."

She couldn't finish her sentence that she was sent flying to the closest wall by his punch. "How come you still dare speak to me, after you failed me. Everything that happened is your fault!" he yelled at her.

"I'm sorry. I thought your jutsu would..."

Once again, she was hit. This time, right to the corner of her face. A small cracking sound was heard as her jaw was fractured.

"I told you to shut the hell up, didn't I" Maki told her. "I don't need a weakling like you to be by my side. You're of no more help to me, my dear Hotaru."

As he was walking towards her, an ominous expression on his face, she tried to flee. However, as weak as she was at the moment, Maki caught up to her, grabbed her katana and sliced her up from the shoulder to her leg. She bled out in an instant and died at his feet.

"Stupid women." he thought to himself. "But, even though I knew he was a jinchuriki, I wouldn't have imagined his bijuu could have expelled my chakra out of his body as easily. I'll have to find another strategy quickly."

He began tottering away, into the darkness of the corridor. "I swear, Uzumaki Naruto, we will see each other again" he whispered before yelling again. "I SWEAR!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

This is it for chapter 4. Chapter 5 is on it's way, but not done yet. Probably next week. Still, please review, I really like to read what you have to say about it. And a special thanks to the couples of reader who constantly review after every chapter! I'm lovin' it.


	5. Chapter 5: Unknown feelings

Chapter 6 is now posted. Sorry for the time in between posts. I'm trying to post quicker but I still want to double check everything and post something that is good for me. Again, please review and give me your comments about it.

Of course, the characters and Naruto universe belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 5: Unknown feelings

"Welcome Naruto. We're glad that you've found some time to come tonight." said Hinata as she invited him inside the house.

It had been exactly one week since that day. Kiba and Lee had managed to get out of the hospital in just 3 days, but Tenten took a little longer. Actually, she had gotten out in the morning. Hinata and Shino had proposed to have a small party in the evening to celebrate the recovery of the team.

As he entered the house, Naruto saw that pretty much all of their friends were present. Sakura and Sasuke were discussing with Shino, drinking a nice bottle of red wine. Ino was speaking to Sai, or at least, she thought she was since he seemed more interested in drawing in his notebook. Kiba, Lee and Tenten were speaking on the couch while sipping at their beers (alcohol-free for Lee, of course!), while Shikamaru and Chouji, who had came back from Suna hours ago, were watching all of them, leaning against a wall.

"Why did we come here in the first place? We weren't even in Konoha this week." said the annoyed ninja.

"That's especially why we're here. We have to show our support to our friends!" told him Chouji before rejoining the others on the couch. "Come on, don't stand there all night Shikamaru!"

"How troublesome..." he sighed before he followed him.

Naruto grabbed some sandwiches and a bottle of water on the kitchen table. He hadn't ate all day because he was too busy with his paperwork, or at least, that's what he said to his friends.

The reality is that he had talked with Kurama a couple of days before. He had asked the tailed beast how he prevented Maki's jutsu to work on him.

"Well, kid. It was pretty easy. I shot a huge amount of my chakra in your chakra network, which pushed out Maki's chakra out of your system by your tenketsus." the Kyuubi had answered.

"And do you think it would be possible to teach my friend how to do it with their own chakra?" Naruto had asked, but the answer was negative. "Or I could send them some of our chakra, like against the Juubi?" he had added.

"Look kid. We can't do that, because the flow of chakra won't be big enough. The technique IS flawless. Except against a Jinchuriki." had been Kurama's response.

Since then, and for the last days, he had finished his work at his office faster than ever, even working during his breaks and lunchtime. Because he had realised he was the only one able to defeat Maki's Genjutsu, he had trained every afternoons and evening, sleeping barely enough to start again the next day.

Hinata rejoined him in the kitchen. "Look everyone, Naruto's here." she said to everybody in the house. They turned their heads and, as they saw him, they greeted him. Since he had arrived, everyone was there and the party could really start.

* * *

As the night went on, they were all having a good time. They had played card games, board games and sang. Lee had brought with him his karaoke machine and it had been very funny to hear how none of them actually could sing.

Pretty quickly, Shikamaru excused himself as he went outside to stare at the night sky. Nobody minded, knowing the lazy shinobi's attitude. When they had played almost every games possible, they kept talking about all kind of stuff, especially Hinata's pregnancy. She was due in just a month already!

"It'll be a little girl, right? Have you thought about a name? Who do you think she'll look like the most. Will she have your Byakugan or not? Or will she carry bugs around like Shino?" Questions were flying towards the couple, coming from everywhere and everyone. Well, actually, they came more from Sakura and Ino...

After a while, Naruto noticed Tenten wasn't with them anymore. "As anyone seen Tenten? Where did she go?" he asked at the group.

"She told me she wanted to go outside for a moment. I guess she's with Shikamaru." told him Kiba.

"Oh. You're probably right. I'll be back in a minute." the Hokage said as he walked to the backyard door.

It took him no time to spot the lazy shinobi. He was lying on the small bench next to the garden, staring at the bright stars in the night.

"Hey there Shikamaru." Naruto said. "Have you seen Tenten by any chance?"

"No. Why?" was all the Nara told him.

"For nothing. Thanks."

The blond shinobi walked away and began searching around the backyard. After 5 minutes, he still hadn't seen her and he started to worry. It's true that Hinata and Shino's backyard was huge, in order to contain various types of insect for the Aburame, but still. This wasn't normal. He tried to pick up her trace. First in the grass, but she hadn't left footprints. Then, he searched her by her scent. Naruto had always had a good sense of smell.

When he finally located her, she was sitting by herself on a big rock, next to a small pond, 500 meters behind the house. He approached slowly, still making some small noises not to startle her.

Tenten caught the small sounds and drew a kunai out of her weapon pouch. "Who's there?" she almost yelled. "Identify yourself!"

"It's okay. It's just me. Naruto!" the young man said, visibly surprised by her reaction.

"Oh. Alright." she said as she put back her weapon. "Sorry about that."

"There's no need to be sorry." he told her as he sat next to her on the rock. "Are you feeling well?"

"Actually, not really..." Her answer definitely surprised Naruto. For as long as he could remember, Tenten had always acted so tough, not wanting to be the weakling in her team. But now, she admitted she wasn't well?! For her to say that, she must really have felt down in the dumps.

"Please, talk to me Tenten. Explain me what's going on. Maybe I could help you." he told her genuinely.

"Well... It all started last week. I never told anyone, but when I was all alone with that man, while he was beating me, my vision became all blurry. And... I thought I saw Neji." Naruto frowned with surprise, but he let her continue. "At that point, I said to myself that I must have died, since he was there too! But then I realised it was you, and I felt like crap. I never needed to be saved before. I was the one saving people." She stopped for a moment, shaken from her emotions.

"You shouldn't feel bad about that! The guy took all of you guys by surprise. And his technique is flawless. Even..." Naruto was cut as she talked again.

"But it's not just that. When I woke up at the hospital, I was all messed up. I'd never been that injured before. Couldn't walk for the first days, only eating blended mixes. And then, Sakura told me that... well..." She couldn't say it, but one look in Naruto's eyes and she understood he knew already. "That. That was like the last nail on the coffin. That made me lose it."

"I understand what you mean. But it could have been worse. You're lucky you haven't felt anything, right?" He tried to cheer her up, but it visibly didn't work. She then exploded, hitting Naruto in the chest with her closed fists.

"Exactly!" she yelled. "I haven't felt it! I was so weak I couldn't even realise I was getting raped! What kind of ninja am I..." She burst out crying, her head on the Rokudaime's shoulder.

"A great one." Tenten sobbed, but calmed down as she heard those words. "What?" she asked, still a sob in her voice.

"I said you are a great ninja." repeated Naruto. "You've been through so much, but still, you act like the strongest kunoichi I've ever met. This is just one more obstacle life throws at you, but I already know you'll get over it." He gave her a big grin as he added "Please, don't let this get to you so easily!"

"Thank you Naruto." she said, forming a small smile on her lips. She rested her head on his shoulder again. "It seems your always the one saving me. And I like you for that."

Naruto started blushing. He barely registered what she had just told him when she punched him in his side. "But if you tell anyone I told you that, I'll crush you down." she added fiercely before getting back on her feet and walking back towards the house.

"I'm glad your acting again as yourself!" the blond told her as he followed her back inside.

* * *

"I've never felt like that before baa-chan. It was all new to me!" said Naruto to Tsunade.

After his discussion with Tenten last night, he had had a weird feeling inside his stomach. A feeling he had never felt before and it was worrying him. Therefore, he went to see the Slug Princess in her office in the morning to get some advice.

"Well Naruto, I can tell you that nothing is wrong with you, at least physically." told him Tsunade. She liked when Naruto came to her asking for help. It made her feel motherly in some way. And she was glad to be there for him. "So, it must be something emotional. Tell me exactly what happened last night."

Naruto started his story, starting by how he had found her by the pond, then how bad she was feeling, how she cried on his shoulder and then thanked him for saving her. "Then, she told me that she liked me for that." The Godaime had a smile. "I don't know what's wrong with me..." he continued.

"Actually, I think you may have some feelings for the girl. Don't you think?" she asked him.

"At first, that's what I thought too" he said, "But when I dated Hinata, or when I wanted Sakura to go out with me, I knew there was something, but it never was like that."

"Think about it Naruto" Tsunade told him. "Sakura looked beautiful, that's why you were always after her, right?" He nodded. "And Hinata asked you out and you accepted because she was cute as well, and she had always been kind to you. Am I wrong?" He nodded again. "Now, do you think Tenten is cute?" she asked him.

"Well... Yes, she is cute, but..." he said before being cut.

"But you're feeling differently. Why?" Naruto was asking himself the same question from the start. Would Tsunade stop to talk about everything but his problem already?!

"That's what I want to know, baa-chan!" he told her, impatient.

"I think it's because you feel something somewhat deeper than before. You saved the girl, you saw her in her most vulnerable state. You feel empathy for her. Do you start to understand?" Tsunade expected a clear answer, but she sighed as Naruto was still confused.

"But, it was the same with Hinata. I almost saw her dying in front of me against Pain. And then..." He stopped there, having a tough time dealing with all his thought and emotions.

"I think you'll have to figure out the rest yourself, Naruto." He was disappointed by Tsunade's answer, but he let her continue. "Of course, it's difficult for you to understand someone else emotions towards you, and your emotions towards others. You had your childhood, and had only one relationship with a girl, that ended up being just strong friendship. As time goes on, you'll understand yourself and your feelings, and when the right time comes, you'll know it."

"That's quite an evasive response, baa-chan." he said as she gave him a smile. "But I guess you're right... Still, thank you baa-chan." He got up and left her office, heading to the Hokage tower to finish all of his work before lunch-time.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

There it is. Chapter 6. Please review and tell me about what you liked or disliked. Chapter 7 is on it's way, but it's not finished yet.


	6. Chapter 6: Counter attack

Finally, here is chapter 6. Sorry for the lenght between posts. Please review.

As always, Naruto and his universe belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 6: Counter attack

Naruto had round up his paperwork pretty quickly. However, since it was raining heavily outside, he didn't went to the training ground this early. He was instead waiting for someone special to eat his lunch with, someone who knocked on his door at noon sharp with a take-out of Ichiraku's ramen.

"Hello there, Naruto." said the man as he entered the Hokage's office.

"Hi Iruka-sensei! It's been a while since we've eaten ramen for lunch together, right?" The chuunin nodded with a grin as they both sat down, chopsticks in their hands.

"Itadakimasu!" they both said before attacking their own bowl of ramen.

"So..." said Iruka in between two mouthful of noodles. "What's going on in the Rokudaime's life recently?" Naruto could see that his question was genuine. He didn't actually knew about what had happened the night before.

"Well, it's a long story." Naruto sighed. "Let me just finish my bowl and I'll tell you. Otherwise, it'll turn cold by the time I'm finished..."

* * *

Tenten was soaking wet.

She hadn't bothered to put on her jacket in the morning, even though the sky was covered by dark gray clouds. She had decided to go to the Leaf cemetery right after she had woken up and, a couple minutes after she arrived at the memorial stone, the rain had started. But she stood still, in silence. After over an hour, she finally spoke.

"Hi Neji." she whispered quietly. "I came to see you today, because I needed to talk to you." She stopped for an instant, sobbing.

"8 days ago, I was kidnapped, beaten and... raped." She had said the last part even quieter than the rest, almost inaudible. "I was weak. Can you imagine?! Me, weak. It doesn't even seem possible, but it's the truth. I was weak." She crouched, speaking in an even lower voice that she barely heard herself. "You know, it was the first time that I actually thought I would die. I had never felt like I could die before. I used to be invincible, or at least I felt like it. But there, I really thought I was going to die. And then..."

As she was talking, she felt sobs in her voice. She didn't want to cry, she couldn't cry. Not in front of Neji. She was too strong to cry. But again, her eyes became wet from tears, slowly running down her cheeks.

"Then, I saw you. And I thought I had died. I thought I could rejoin you finally. But..."

It was enough for the poor girl and she burst out crying. "But it wasn't you. I wasn't dead and I was saved. In a way, I would have been happy to die and come back to you. You, who had always protected me, who was always making sure I was safe and sound, and happy. I was telling you that I didn't needed your help, but I was glad every time you told me that 'everything's gonna be alright', glad that you paid much attention to me..."

She paused for a moment, tears flowing from her poor eyes, before she continued in a calmer voice. "I felt like you cared about me. And even though you never saw it, I loved you, Neji. And it made me think that, maybe in some way, you loved me back... But now... Now you're gone... Forever... I miss you!"

She couldn't handle it any longer. She fell on her knees and cried her heart out for a good 15 minutes, the rain still pouring on her. After a while, she managed to calm a little bit, got up to her feet and walked away painfully...

* * *

"I see. So you don't know if you like her or not, is this it?" Iruka was still a little bit confused, which started to annoy the Hokage.

"No! I just don't know if she's just a strong friend to me... or more..." answered Naruto.

"Oh! Now I see." Naruto's eyes widen as his former teacher understood the situation, awaiting for his advice. "However, I can't help you with that."

"WHAT!" The blond shinobi saw red. "I explained to you the situation over and over, wasting all the time I had to train, to hear, in the end, that you cannot help me!"

"Hey, there. I'm sorry Naruto but those are things that you'll understand by yourself, when the time's right. Don't worry, you'll figure it out." Iruka answered, amused by his former student's reaction.

"Yeah, that I know already from Tsunade." moaned Naruto. "You're not of much help Iruka-sensei..."

The chuunin laughed quietly until the door of the Hokage's office opened.

"Naruto, we have located enemy shinobi's around the village. Our intel make us believe that they are associates of that Maki character." said Kakashi as soon as he entered the office.

"Fine." said Naruto as he got up from his seat. "I'll take care of them in a minute. Leave them to me." He was about to leave when Kakashi spoke again.

"Actually, you should follow me to the ANBU head quarter. Shikamaru was there when the news arrived and he said he had a plan."

* * *

"It seems that there are no patrol around the Hidden Leaf."

A group of Kusa shinobi were advancing quickly in direction of Konoha, running between trees and jumping from branches to another.

"That's perfect." said another one. "We'll get to the outer walls in no time and then we'll be able to attack them!"

"Remember Maki-sama's order." said the leader of the group. "We must get information about the military status of the Leaf, if possible without initiating an open fight."

"That's right." added one of his follower. "And he warned us about the Hokage. He's supposed to be one strong opponent. We'd better kidnap a weaker shinobi and get the intel out of him."

"Right!" On those words, they accelerated, now only half an hour away from the village's walls.

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi arrived back at the ANBU head quarters. Awaiting them were Sai, Sasuke and Shikamaru. Just as he passed the door, the Hokage yelled at the lazy ninja.

"What makes you think we need a plan of some sort to deal with those intruders! I can easily take them out myself!" raged the Rokudaime.

"Yeah, yeah. We all know that." sighed Shikamaru. "However, I would like to know what is their business with us..."

"And they wouldn't be able to answer our questions after you beat them up like you can!" added Sai with his smile.

Naruto grumbled. "Alright, alright. Anyway, what's this great plan of yours?" he then asked.

"We'll make them tell us what they're here for without even asking questions!" told Shikamaru with a smirk.

* * *

Later on, Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Shikamaru were at the Konoha main gate. They were about to leave when the last instructions were given.

"So, we know that the group of shinobi is heading towards our western walls, thanks to Shino's bugs. We will therefore head that way as well, right Shikamaru?" asked Sasuke.

"Exactly. Remember to stay close to one another." replied Shikamaru. He then explained them the formation they would use. "Naruto, you'll go first. You've got a good nose and you're the strongest of us all. I'll be right after you, ready to give my tactics both to you and in the back of the line. Sasuke, you'll be third, and Sai will close the walk. Your job is to watch our backs. Ready?"

As the other 3 ninjas nodded, they left quickly towards the west of the forest.

A little behind them, Tenten, who was casually walking around the village, saw the small group leaving. She seemed hesitant at first, but her curiosity won over her hesitancy.

"I wonder where they are going. Everything seemed calm inside and outside the village earlier today." she thought.

In the end, she decided to follow them, running quite slower than them, still worn down from her injuries. "Naruto seemed annoyed. I guess something mustn't be right, but what!?" she thought to herself before following their trail.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" complained one of the Hidden Grass shinobi.

"We're pretty close now." answered his chief. "But stay alert, there may be some traps around here. So stop whining like a child and focus on your duty."

The group was edgy and frustrated after they had almost fell for multiples traps on their way, slowing down their progression towards the Hidden Leaf. However, they were now only a couple miles away from the western outer walls.

"So, it seems our intel was correct after all." shouted a voice from the top of a tree. The group of shinobis stopped right away, switching already to their combat stance.

"Who are you. Show yourself like a man." shouted back the leader of the group.

"What do you think. That I'm a coward? That I'm scared? If I wanted to attack you silently in your back, don't you think I would have done it already?" answered the voice who seemed to become closer every second. "Well you're wrong. Take a look at me, and you'll be terrified!"

Between 2 branches appeared Naruto, right in front of the leader. Then, from trees behind them and to their sides appeared Sai, Shikamaru and Sasuke.

"It's the Hokage!" "What do we do?" "He's with 2 ANBU as well!" "Hey, isn't this the one who beat Hotaru?" The group was getting worried and scared as they realised the situation they were in now.

"What do you want, coming this close to the walls of my village?" asked Naruto to the group leader.

"Do you really think you're scaring us?" the chief answered calmly. "Actually..."

The chief disappeared in a blur, only to reappear behind the Rokudaime. "That was just an act." He planted a kunai in each of Naruto's shoulder, immobilizing both his arms. At the same time, the other members of the group did the same to the 3 other Konoha shinobis. "Now I, Kamame Ringi, will be the one asking questions.

* * *

Tenten had observed the scene just after it's beginning. She had managed to catch up to Naruto's group by running at a faster pace, but it just tired her even more. Now, she felt useless as she saw her friends immobilized by the group of Kusa ninjas. She wanted to help them, but hadn't recovered enough yet to begin an all out battle with that much opponents.

"Now let's be careful." she heard the leader say to his man. "We have to keep our guard up. Some others may still be hidden around us."

Tenten was shocked. "Have they located me yet?" she thought to herself. She began to worry, but she was now sure of one thing: if she moved, she would be seen or heard. Therefore, she could only stay hidden and watch, hoping for reinforcements to arrive...

"Alright now." said the group leader to the Hokage, still unable to move. "We will ask you simple questions, and every time you do not answer, we'll kill one of your teammates. So, first: how many fighting shinobis are in duty in the Leaf?"

As Naruto stayed silent, he turned to one of his subordinate. "Kill the raven haired. If I'm not wrong, he's the one who beat Hotaru." Just as he finished his sentence, Sasuke was pierced through his heart.

"Now, I'll ask the same question once again. How many fighting ninjas are in duty in the Leaf right now?" Still no answer. This time, it was Sai who was pierced through his heart. Once again, the leader spoke with Naruto.

"It seems you don't want to answer. Fine with me. I'll just ask your friend here." He then turned to face Shikamaru. "If you do not answer this simple question, I kill your Hokage. Am I clear? So how many active shinobis are in duty in Konoha?" Both Leaf ninjas could feel that he was getting tensed and frustrated. Of course, Shikamaru didn't answer, and one of the Kusa shinobi started walking towards Naruto.

"So, this is it. No answer, you die. Plain and simple." he told him with a smirk. He grabbed a kunai from his weapon pouch and placed it against his chest. "Goodbye Lord Hoka..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence that hundreds of blades flew at him and killed him on the spot. The rest of the group backed away as Tenten landed in front of Naruto, an empty summoning scroll in her hands. "You saved me once Naruto. Now let me return you the favor..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

This is it. Chapter 6 is done. Once again, sorry for the time between the posts. Now, I have more free time and a better idea where the story is going, so it should be less long before chapter 7 and the others. Please take a minute to review, tell me what you liked, disliked, etc.


	7. Chapter 7: Shikamaru's plan

****Chapter 7 is on. Thank you for reading this story, and please tell me what you like, dislike, expect, would like to see, etc. in review.

As always, I do not own Naruto, the characters and the universe. All rights to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 7: Shikamaru's plan

All the Kusa shinobis turned their head to look at the exhausted looking kunoichi standing between them and the Hokage. She was already tired from her run through the forest and was now suffering from chakra depletion, thanks to her summoning jutsu.

"Who are you, fine lady, to interrupt our mission like this?" asked her Kamame.

"My name's Tenten, and I'm a Leaf ninja." she answered proudly.

"Well, as exhausted as you look, you'll just prolong our fun here. We'll kill you in an instant and then get back to our original duty." laughed the leader of the group.

"You can try!" shouted a confident Tenten, reaching for another scroll, this one in her back, attached to her belt. She opened it and summoned hundreds of kunais, shurikens and other blades. She was throwing her weapons so fast that her every arm move was like a blur to her opponents. By the time every weapon had been thrown, 4 more Kusa ninjas were dead.

"I see you can still fight, even in your state. I'm impressed I must say." told her calmly Kamame Ringi, who had avoided her every attacks. "But you are still no match for me!"

In an instant, he disappeared, only to reappear behind her, the blade of a kunai touching her lower back. His other arm wrapped around her neck, he felt her heavy pulse, her soft skin, her slight sweating smell. "Oh... I recognize you now. Do you?"

Tenten was confused now. How did he move so fast? It couldn't be the Hiraishin since she hadn't been tagged. And how come he knew her. Was he just trying to get in her head? Or was he... "Who are you exactly?" she stuttered between her accelerating breathing.

"You really have forgotten me? I thought you had appreciated me last time." he said with a smirk.

Tenten's face changed as she finally understood. Everything made sense now. "You mean, you were the one who..." She was now breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating.

He answered her, a huge malicious smile on his face. "Raped you. Yes. And I'm ready for round 2, woman."

He could see in her eyes how terrified she was. The first time, she didn't even had been conscious when it happened. Now, she was fully aware, and was surrounded by the corpses of 2 friends, and 2 others incapable of moving a finger.

She would have screamed as he started kissing her neck roughly, but no sounds were able to get out of her mouth. When Kamame ripped the back of her shirt, she closed her eyes and tears ran down her cheeks, only to be wiped away by a strong shockwave a moment after.

"RASENGAN!"

As she opened them back, she saw him, standing over the dead body of Kamame Ringi, the blue orb in his hand slowly fading away. She saw his face, his strong facial features deepened by his anger, his eyes, now orange and looking ferocious by the action of the fox chakra, his blond hair, his sharp teeth. To anyone, he would have looked scary, but for her, he looked like a savior.

When the Kusa ninjas finally understood what had happened, they tried to flee, only to be caught back and massacred by the enraged Leaf shinobi. Sai, Shikamaru and Sasuke jumped from the trees they were hidden in just as 'their' dead corpses disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Of course, they had noticed Naruto's actions and had realised that he was now blinded by anger. Reacting quickly, Sai drew ink snakes to grab on to the Hokage's body. At the same time, Shikamaru used his Kage Mane no Jutsu to stop his movements. Sasuke made his Susano appear to protect everyone in case his former teammate snapped, but luckily, he calmed down a couple minutes after. When his traits returned to normal, his friends all released their techniques and ran towards him.

"Are you alright Naruto?" said Sasuke, visibly worried. "You hadn't lose control like this in ages! What happened to you?

Naruto stared at the kunoichi, still excessively weak and sobbing in the lazy ninja's arms. He wouldn't, couldn't tell Sasuke about what had happened to her. "I got carried away, I'm sorry. Maybe it's one of Kurama's prank..." he told him, unsure if he'd buy that lie.

"Hey there, don't blame it on me, brat..." groaned the Nine tailed fox.

"I see." said Sasuke. "Anyway, let's get out of here and bring Tenten to the hospital. She over did it again..."

Naruto agreed and, as he saw Sai and Shikamaru nod, they left the battle field, now filled with blood and corpses.

* * *

Tenten slightly opened her eyes and was now blinded by the bright light. After a couple minutes, she managed to see properly again and realised she was in the Leaf hospital. Around her were Kiba and Lee, both sleeping in their chairs. "They must have waited for me to wake up... How sweet!" she thought.

"You're awake, sleeping beauty?" Tenten jumped as she heard that other voice. She turned her view towards the door and saw the blond's face. She couldn't prevent herself to blush, which made Naruto smile.

"What do you want?" she said, trying to stay serious in front of her Hokage.

"I'm sorry. Actually, we just wanted to talk to you about what happened." he told her as he entered the room.

"We? So he isn't alone?" Tenten thought to herself. She felt a little disappointed, but didn't let it show.

Following Naruto inside the room were Sasuke, Sai and Shikamaru. They all seated around her bed and the latest talked first.

"Why have you followed us inside the forest?" the Nara asked coldly.

"I'm fine thank you! And I was curious to where you were going. I saw that you were all worried about something and I couldn't help but to check it out..." she answered.

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, I guess I owe you some thanking. If you hadn't showed up, my plan might not have worked..."

"Your plan?" Tenten asked, confused. "Could someone explain to me what's all of this?"

"Yeah, right." Naruto continued. "Well, the ANBU located enemies presence in the forest around the village. As I was about to take care of them, Shikamaru had already elaborated a plan..."

* * *

_(__**Flashback**__, Naruto and Kakashi have already arrived at the ANBU HQ and are discussing what to do with the enemies in the forest.)_

_Naruto grumbled. "Alright, alright. Anyway, what's this great plan of yours?" he then asked._

_"We'll make them tell us what they're here for without even asking questions!" told Shikamaru with a smirk._

_"And how will you pull this one off?" asked back Sasuke._

_"Quite simple." answered straightly the lazy shinobi. "The 4 of us, which means excluding Kakashi, will go at them in the forest. However, Naruto will make 4 kage bunshin and use a henge jutsu to make them look like us. Then, the clones will let themselves be captured while we will be hidden around, listening to everything. We'll learn why they're here, get the information we need, then attack them from behind. This way, even if one of them flees, he won't know about our capacity or techniques, and we will be fixed on their intentions."_

_"This is indeed a great plan!" told Sai with a smile._

_"Yeah, yeah..." grumbled Naruto. "But do you really expect myself and Sasuke to use sneak attacks like this, without saying anything?! We want some actions, some challenge, right Sasuke?"_

_"I actually think it's a good plan as it is." replied the Uchiha coldly._

_"Damn it!" yelled the Hokage. "I thought you were my friend! You're supposed to back me up, to be on my side!"_

_"Since everyone as accepted the plan, I suggest you all meet in 15 minutes at the main gate." said Kakashi laughing at the angry Naruto. "From there, you'll be able to leave for this mission..."_

* * *

Tenten still looked confused in her hospital bed. "In the end, you're telling me that the ones I saw getting killed by those shinobis were only Naruto's clones?!" As they nodded, they couldn't tell is she was relieved or angered by that realisation.

"That's exactly it." answered back Shikamaru.

"Then I almost died, again, for nothing!" Now, they knew. She was pissed off.

Sasuke tried to calm her down, but again, the Nara had the best explanation. "No, you didn't. As I told you before, my plan was about to be ruined. Even though they had captured our fakes, they didn't let their guard down." explained casually Shikamaru. "They expected someone to appear, or at least some tricks to take them down. When you protected the fake Naruto, they thought they had captured the real ones, which enabled us to surprise them in the end."

Tenten was still angry, but she managed to calm down slightly during the lazy shinobi's speech. "I... I see..." she sighed.

"Well, we've got to go now." told her Sai. "We have to give our report to Kakashi, and to the... Actually, only to Kakashi. The Hokage already knows!" He exited the room with a big smile on his face, closely followed by Sasuke.

"I'll go to." casually said Shikamaru. "I'll let you two alone for a moment." He didn't waited for a response and left quickly. Naruto felt a slight accusation in his last remark and stared at him angrily as he exited, turning his head to Tenten. "How could he knew? Is it this obvious? Or as baa-chan talked too much again?" Naruto thought. All the possible scenarios passed through his mind.

On her side, the worn out kunoichi was actually glade he looked away, since he therefore didn't see her blush.

"What's wrong with him!" Naruto said with an uncomfortable smile. But she did not answered. Instead, she looked down. She seemed sad. No, more like guilty. Exactly, she seemed to feel guilty about something. But what? "Are you OK Tenten?" asked her the Hokage.

"I'm fine..." she whispered under her breath.

"No you're not!" told her Naruto. "I can see it in your face. It says 'I'm not alright but I don't want to bother anyone about this'. Am I wrong?"

She lifted her head up and gazed deep inside his blue eyes. He knew it. He knew she hid her problems from him. He wasn't the stupid kid who couldn't tell others feelings anymore. He was the Rokudaime Hokage, for Kami's sakes.

"Trust me, I know this face too well." Now his tone had changed from his happy, loud and cheerful voice to a more quiet and shy one. "I've seen it too often on my friends face, but I know it too well because... Because I used to make that face all the time before..."

Tenten felt like a big 'feel ball' was stuck in her stomach. She wanted to comfort the poor thing standing next to her hospital bed, but as she got closer to him, he spoke again, returning to his usual voice tone.

"And that's why you should talk to someone. I'm here right now, but if you prefer someone else, I really don't mind. Maybe I could get Sakura to come and talk to you during her break. Or even Hinata! She always has a lot of free time!"

"Thank you Naruto." she told her, sitting up in her bed. "I already have a confident for those kind of things. We'll discuss this later."

Slowly, she got closer and closer to the blond, who clearly wasn't expecting it. "But I want to thank you, Naruto." She gave him a kiss on his cheek. "You saved me. Again! And knowing that he is dead..." She looked down again for a second, before continuing. "Now, I'm relieved, and I think I'll be able to move on. Thank you."

After her small kiss on his cheek, Naruto had blushed a lot, his face turning almost bright red. She remarked it and giggled a bit. "Oh, you know, it's nothing! It's my duty after all to protect the people from my village!" he said, trying to convince himself more than anyone else. She found his reaction rather funny.

But all of a sudden, he became serious again. "I will never let anyone hurt you again. This, I promise you." And he left, not awaiting for a response from her.

"Thank you Naruto." Tenten whispered so nobody else could hear it.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

Et voilà. Hope you liked it. Once again, please take a minute or two to review and tell me what you thought of this chapter and of the story.

Next chapter is started, but won't be published before next week. I'll still try to get it out quick, but I want it to be good, according to my expectancies.


	8. Chapter 8: Enlightenment

Finally, here it is. Chapter 8. Once again, sorry for the lenght in between posts. I had a hard time on this chapter, but I still hope you'll like it.

Of course, I do not own Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 8: Enlightenment

"Great news Tenten!" shouted Lee inside her hospital room. He had woke her up and his loud voice wasn't the best alarm clock... "While you were asleep, the doctor told me you were ready to go. You can go back home and take on your duties tomorrow!"

Tenten sat up in her bed. Her 3 days rest had definitely been beneficial, as she had regained some colors and didn't felt her injuries from over a week ago anymore. "Thank you Lee, for being there for me."

"Well, it's nothing. You know, that's what teammates are for! And since we're the last remnants of Team Guy..." He stopped in mid-phrase, realising the mistake he had just done. "Well... I mean... You know..." He couldn't find a way to make up for it, but in the end, she was the one who talked it through.

"It's alright Lee. Thank you." She smiled at him, a genuine smile, like he hadn't seen in years from her.

The kunoichi got on her feet, grabbed her clothes that were hung in a small closet in her room, and changed behind the thick curtains hanging between an empty bed and her own. She reappeared a minute or so after and left the room.

"Whatever might have happened to you my friend, I'm glad it did. You've never been this happy in years!" thought Rock Lee to himself as she disappeared through the door frame.

* * *

After going back quickly to her apartment, Tenten headed directly to the memorial stone of the Hidden Leaf. She definitely needed to talk to him, and she had promised Naruto she would. So, she spoke to her confident.

"Hi Neji. It's me again." she said in a soft voice. "I know I have come to see you often recently, but I really needed to talk to you."

She kneeled down in front of the stone and begun relating the events that had occurred in the forest 3 days ago: how Naruto seemed worried at the gate, when she thought he'd been killed, how she'd interposed herself in order to save him... or at least what she thought was him.

"But in the end, it was only a clone. I thought I had indeed saved him, but he was to one who saved me after all. I guess I'm still weak... and useless." She sobbed an instant before words from her Hokage appeared in her mind: _I said you are a great ninja. You've been through so much, but still, you act like the strongest kunoichi I've ever met._ He was right. She was strong.

She got up on her feet, a brave look on her face. "No. It's true. What he told me back in Hinata's garden. I'm strong. Even in my state, I managed to kill 5 enemies!"

Suddenly, her mood darkened again, as she recalled what had happened next. "But still, I was captured. He had me. The same man who... well, who did you know what." She looked down. "It's still hard to talk about it. Actually, I told only you and Naruto..."

She looked up, not noticing that she was smiling at the sky. "I don't know how it happened, but I'm comfortable talking with him. Just like... just like I was with you. He genuinely cares about me. And I... I think that... I like him. And maybe... Maybe I more than like him."

She blushed as she spoke those words, but quickly came back down to earth. "But does he like me back? I know he cares, he treats me very well. But am I just a friend to him? Am I..."

"I think he does like you back, Tenten."

The brunette jumped 2 feet into the air, so surprised to realise she was not the only one there. She turned to see who it was that had spoken and she spotted 2 pair of eyes looking at her from a tree. Lavender and green eyes.

"Wha... Hinata! Sakura! What are you doing here? Spying on me?!" she shouted at them.

The duo jumped down from their hide and walked towards the stupefied brunette. "Sorry to have disturbed you." told her Sakura. "I swear we didn't mean to scare you." Both of them were visibly embarrassed to have been caught while eavesdropping on Tenten.

"It's just that... Lee came to see us. He said that your mood had lighten up significantly in the past days. He was glad for you, but he was wondering what had happened." confessed the Hyuga.

"And so we decided to investigate ourselves." continued the pinkette. "And actually, both of us weren't surprised to hear you just now. We kind of had figured it out already..." Hearing those words, Tenten blushed even redder.

"How... how did you notice it so easily?" she asked, but the answer came rather quickly.

"Please... Just the look you give him every time he's close by! I know it too well, I used to gave him the same!" told her Hinata.

"Oh... It's really that obvious? Well, at least for you two..." Tenten blushed again, looking down to hide her embarrassment.

"It IS that obvious. We all noticed it. I think that even Naruto himself starts to understand. Basically, it's just Lee who's dumb enough!"

They all laughed at the remark. Lee had never been the observant type. Even the Uzumaki was better than him, and he wasn't that good himself. They calmed down after a minute, and Tenten became serious again.

"And so, you really think he likes me back? What if he doesn't? What if I'm only a friend to him?"

"Really, I wouldn't worry about that." told her Hinata. "You know Naruto. He's always energetic and dynamic, but his position as Hokage didn't change the fact that he is fragile and delicate inside. He may still be shy around you and he's probably doubting himself and his feelings towards you, but he does like you."

"Yes!" added the pink kunoichi. "Just his actions towards you are showing it. A week ago, he swore in front of me to protect you at all cost. The look he gave me as he vowed told me it was something more than just his duty as the Hokage. The last time I had seen him like this, I was the one he wanted to protect..."

Tenten's face lit up as all her doubts were swept away. So, he liked her back! What a relief! She hugged her two friends, who hugged her back. The three of them had big smiles on their faces and laughed freely. They twirled on themselves and, all of a sudden, Tenten's smile had faded away. She stopped, and Hinata and Sakura tried to understand what had happened to her. Her eyes were full of sadness and betrayal. They both followed her stare and realised she was looking at the memorial stone behind them.

"What's going on?" asked Hinata.

"Do you think I'm betraying him?" Tenten was sobbing as she spoke, and her friends understood right away what she meant.

"Of course not!" Sakura said to comfort her. "I do think he liked you a lot, but I'm sure he would want you to be happy."

"Sakura's right!" added the Hyuga. "Nii-san wouldn't want us to keep living in the past. He would like to see us move on and smile! You know him well too, Tenten. You know that's what he'd want."

"Maybe you're right..." said the brunette, still emotional. "Thank you, you two." Without awaiting an answer, she walked away from the stone and back towards her place, with still that sad look on her face. Her two friends stayed behind.

"That must be hard for her, right Sakura?" asked her Hinata.

"Definitely. But she must think through this on her own and understand by herself. Then, she'll be able to decide whether to move on or not. It's just up to her now..."

* * *

"It's been 3 days now. Since they still haven't returned, we must assume that they've deserted us, or that they're dead." said a voice.

Inside a dark basement of one of their hideouts, Maki and his men were discussing what to do next. At first, they had sent Ringi's troop to scout out some intel, but they hadn't come back.

"Doesn't matter which scenario is the true one. One way or another, we now have to take care of our things ourselves." said Maki as he stood up. "Now follow me, you two. We're heading for the Kusa hideout again..."

* * *

"How troublesome..."

Shikamaru was walking down the streets of Konoha, visibly annoyed. His mother had asked him to dine home tonight, but he didn't really felt like it. Therefore, he had decided to watch the clouds instead. Unfortunately for him, she saw him and scolded him like he was still a small genin. He was now heading back home, but looking for an excuse to waste time. After a while, he passed in front of Ichiraku's and saw a blond customer, barely finishing his second bowl of ramen. He had found his excuse.

"What's up Naruto?" Shikamaru asked as he entered. "You won't finish your second serving?"

"..."

"I see... At first, I thought you were sick, or something, but now something is definitely wrong. What's going on?"

"Sorry Shikamaru, I don't feel like talking right now." Naruto finally answered.

"I see... So it's a girl issue, isn't it?"

Naruto couldn't believe it. How did he figured it out? He hadn't gave him any clues! They barely even made eye contact. But he still preferred not to answer. "..."

"I think you should talk to her, Naruto. Tenten's a good girl and I think that she likes you too."

Shikamaru smiled when he saw the blonde's expression. His eyes had popped wide open, his jaw dropped and he was staring right into the Nara's eyes.

"How did you figure THAT out?!" he shouted at him. There was no point hiding it now. He knew everything.

"It was quite obvious actually. I've known you for so long, or should I say for too long." sighed Shikamaru before he continued. "I see how you look at her. How you act when she's around."

Naruto blushed. "Well, I guess I'm still not good at hiding my emotions." He paused an instant. "But, do you really think she likes me back?"

"Don't tell me you didn't notice? Almost everyone in the Hidden Leaf has realised that the both of you feel special towards the other. Except Lee... How troublesome..." he sighed.

Naruto still hadn't moved nor respond. How dumb of a guy was he... "Just talk with her already." sighed the Nara. "She'll either like you back, or not. One or the other, but at least you'll know. Stop worrying and act now!"

The blond turned slowly towards his friend but Shikamaru was already walking away. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I should make a move. I can't continue to ignore my feelings anymore..." Naruto thought to himself.

Shikamaru saw the expression on his friend's face change and he smiled. "He understood." he whispered to himself.

"SHIKAMARU!" a voice yelled outside the ramen shop.

"Troublesome women..." Shikamaru turned back and head home again.

* * *

As soon as she arrived home, Tenten barely took the time to take a quick shower and change her clothes. She grabbed her bag and her summoning scrolls and headed to the training ground.

"I'm strong. He told me that I'm strong." she said to herself. "Now I must prove him right." She locked her door and jumped from roofs to roofs towards her destination, going as fast as she could.

* * *

"Dear associates. The scout patrol that we sent around the Hidden Leaf have yet to return." Maki said to his audience. "We have come to the conclusion that they probably have been killed by the ninjas of Konoha. Therefore, it is the time to launch our plan."

Whispers and groans were heard from the crowd as Maki had spoken. "Is it really the right time?" "But we didn't get the intel!" Is he crazy?!"

Finally, one brave men from the audience stood up and asked his question. "Are you sure this is the perfect timing for our plan?"

"Of course!" answered Maki. "With this victory, Konoha will not expect a retaliation as quick as this. And if we do not take our opportunity right now, we may never have a better one in years."

Once again, people were talking softly in the crowd. "Maybe is right." "Yeah, we must take a chance on this one." "Alright, let's do this!"

Maki raised his voice to be heard from the whole assembly. "Dear associates, I will give you one week. Prepare your men and let's meet again here in exactly 7 days. With our army, we will destroy the Hidden Leaf and finish Lord Orochimaru's plan!"

The crowd was jolting with energy. As they all left by the big door in the far side of the room, Maki stayed alone a moment. "And I'll take care of you personally, Mr. Hokage..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

How did you find chapter 8? Good, bad, anything. Please review and tell me. This chapter was hard for me, but I have a pretty good idea of the end of this story. YES, THE END IS NEAR! Next chapters should be posted sooner than this one...


	9. Chapter 9: The final battle approaches

WOW! I thought I wouldn't see the end of this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long but the midterms got in the way and frankly, it was a hard one to write. Because I was always cut off by ideas for the ending. By the way, the next chapter will be the last of this story. Probably longer than the rest of them, but it will be the finale. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy, and don't forget to review please!

Once again, Naruto and the universe belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 9: The final battle approaches

"What have you been doing the past week? Gathering the courage to talk to Naruto about your feelings?" said Sakura, a small smile on her face.

"No. I was training actually." answered coldly Tenten.

"What!? You still haven't talked to him about it!?" almost yelled Ino.

"Come on. Can't you yell it louder?" shouted the brunette to her blond friend.

"If you wish!" teased her the Yamanaka.

Tenten sighed. The three of them were walking across the village, talking about everything and anything and stopping in front of every clothes store for Ino. However, the Tenten and Naruto issue had quickly become the main topic of discussion and it started to annoy the weapon expert.

"Listen girls. I passed almost 2 weeks in the hospital, without missions nor training. That's why I wish to get back in shape as quickly as possible. When I'm not around you girls, I'm always at the training ground. Bottom line. I don't have time for any kind of romance what's so ever." stated an exasperated Tenten.

Both Sakura and Ino knew she was lying at some point. Yes, it was true that she was always at the training ground, but she couldn't hide her feelings anymore. She had been seen daydreaming everywhere in the Hidden Leaf and her two friends knew about it. Ino was about to tease her again, but Sakura wanted to respect the brunette's privacy.

"Anyway, what about you, Ino-pig? Have you made your move with Sai already?" she said with a little smile.

"What!? Euh... Well... not yet... But everything's going according to plan, Forehead!" Ino stuttered, visibly surprised by the change of discussion topic. Sakura and Tenten laughed at their friend's reaction. "Hey, it's not funny!" she then shouted.

The trio laughed a good while until they saw 2 familiar faces crossing their path.

"Hey there Shikamaru, Chouji. What's up guys?" Ino said while waving at them.

"Nothing special. Really." told her boringly Shikamaru.

"We're just going to eat at the BBQ restaurant. See you later!" added Chouji.

Sakura gave them a suspicious look. "Ok... Later boys." she told them before the trio left the two friends.

As the girls disappeared in the crowd of people of the village, a third silhouette appeared from behind the Akimichi.

"Thank you for the cover-up guys." said Naruto.

"No problemo." told him Chouji with a grin on his face.

"When will you talk to her Naruto? It's been a week since we discussed, you and I, at Ichiraku's. Are you scared or something?" asked Shikamaru.

"What! Me, scared?!" shouted Naruto. He looked at both his friends and understood that they knew already. His proud look on his face turned to a pitiful one. "Yes, I am..."

"I don't understand." told him Chouji. "When we were younger, you used to turn around Sakura always asking for a date or a kiss. And you seemed comfortable when you dated Hinata. What happened to you?"

"It's not the same thing. With Sakura, it was only a childhood crush. And besides, I knew she'd always say no, so I wasn't expecting anything. And with Hinata, she was the one who initiated the whole thing. I didn't know what to expect." Chouji nodded. "Now, it's entirely the opposite. I have strong feelings for her, and I don't want to be left heartbroken..."

Shikamaru stopped in the middle of the street, and his friends did the same a couple steps after him. He gave them his genius look and they knew he had found a plan. "Why don't you ask for advice from someone who was in your situation" he told the blond shinobi.

Chouji understood, but Naruto was still clueless. "Who could I talk to, then?"

"Hinata, of course!" told him the Akimichi. "You just said it yourself. She was the one who initiated everything with you couple years ago."

"Yeah. You're right guys. Thank you, see you guys later!" he shouted, already running towards Hinata's house.

After seconds only, he had disappeared in the distance. "He's hopeless. How dumb can he be... And he's our Hokage!" sighed Shikamaru as Chouji nodded. "We're doomed..." They laughed a bit and entered the BBQ restaurant.

* * *

"Perfect" Maki said. "Everyone is here. We may start now."

Around a large round table sat 15 men, including Maki. The room was very dark, barely lit up by some candles on the walls. Maki spoke again. "First of all, how many soldiers were you able to recruit?"

They all made their report to Maki, who wrote it in his small book. "So, we have surpassed our objective of 800 soldiers, isn't that right?"

"Yes, Maki-sama!" the 15 men answered as one.

"Excellent. 870 men is more than enough to realise my plan." he whispered to himself, before standing up and speaking to his guests. "Listen, my friends. We will finally be able to walk the streets of the Hidden Leaf as victors and conquerors. How, you may ask. It is quite simple. We will send the majority of our fighting men directly at the door of Konoha."

He was cut off by one of the men around the table. "But won't we be at a disadvantage attacking them straight forward like this?" he asked him.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. We only need to create a distraction. Please let me finish and you'll understand..." he said, glaring at him until he sat back down, gulping. He then continued. "Our attack will force them to concentrate their defense in one point. Then, myself and my "tactic unit" will get around the fight and go directly to the Hokage and take care of him. Once he's done being dealt with, we will come back and I'll use my Genjutsu to finish up the battle. Do any of you have a question?"

"No sir." they all responded, but one stood up and asked what everybody was wondering.

"Actually, Maki-sama, what is this "tactic unit" you've been talking about?"

"Oh. That's right. You haven't met her already..." Maki said. Everyone's face changed as he spoke.

"Her? It's just a single girl?!" they all thought.

"Kitomi, come here please." he said in a soft voice.

From a small door entered a young girl in her early twenties, with long brown hair tied up in a pony tail and two small katanas strapped in her back. She had a fierce look on her face and stared at every guest in the room. She stood right next to Maki and turned to him to speak. "Greetings, Maki-sama."

"Hello Kitomi. I present you my lieutenants for the attack on Konoha." he answered.

One of the lieutenants stood up, laughing. "She's just a young girl. Maki-sama, are you sure it is a good idea to let her come? She might get hurt or..."

He couldn't finish his sentence that his head was sent flying by a sharp swing of her blade. She stood over the man's dead body and spoke to the assembly. "I will not let anyone stand in my way. I will avenge my dear sister. Hotaru nee-chan, I will kill Sasuke Uchiha, your murderer..."

As she was going back towards the small door, Maki turned to his stunned assembly. "I think you now understand why I chose her. The Uchiha will, without a doubt, be with the Hokage, and everyone knows that a desperate human being has no limits. She will be of great use to me..." Everyone nodded. "Now" continued Maki. "If everything is understood and ready to go, I think I should talk to our men."

He walked to the front door of the room, followed by the 14 others and arrived on a balcony that stood over a gigantic area filled with armed men. They all yelled as they saw Maki and the lieutenants arrive on the balcony. It was so loud that the walls were shaky. Maki calmed them down by signaling to keep quiet and spoke.

"Soldiers. Men. Friends. The moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrive. We will complete Lord Orochimaru's will and conquer the Hidden Leaf." he shouted to the army who started to scream again. "This task is not an easy one. But I can see courage, strength, bravery and will in your eyes. We'll have some casualties and deaths, but this is a small price to pay to carry our master's wish. We'll defeat our enemies, and we will walk the streets of Konoha over their shinobi's dead body!"

The crowd went wild as the lieutenants jumped from the balcony and in front of the army. Huge doors then opened and all the men exited the place, running behind the lieutenants. They were running so fast that it wouldn't take long before they reached the outer skirt of the Hidden Leaf. Maki, still on the balcony, turned around and saw Kitomi waiting for him. "Shall we go, Maki-sama." she asked him.

"Indeed, my dear Kitomi. Indeed." he answered before they jumped and exited as well, following the army.

* * *

Knock knock knock.

From her bedroom, Hinata realised that someone was knocking at her door. Since Shino was at the headquarters, she had to get up to open the door. She was walking slowly towards the entrance, but visibly too slowly for the visitor.

Bang bang bang. "Hey Hinata! It's me... Open the door!" yelled a familiar voice, now almost punching at the door.

"Hasty as always, Naruto. Why am I not surprised..." she thought to herself before opening the door for her friend. She greeted him. "Hello Naruto! How are..."

"What took you so long!" shouted the blond Hokage at the Hyuga. She looked down and he followed her stare. He saw her big round belly and realised. "Damn! I forgot your due anytime now! Are you alright? You should sit down!"

Hinata giggled at her friend's reaction. He was always so attentive and protective. "Well Naruto. I was sitting down before you almost broke down my front door!"

"Hey hey... I'm sorry Hinata!" he said while scratching the back of his head.

When they had both sat down in the living room, Hinata asked him why he had come to see her in the first place. Naruto blushed a little before he spoke softly and shyly.

"Hinata? Can you promise me that you won't repeat anything you'll hear from me today? That you'll keep it to yourself?"

"Of course! You can trust me Naruto." she answered as he gave her a luminous look.

"Ok... Well, I've realised lately that I... Let's say, like Tenten... A lot..." he said almost in a whisper so no one could hear them.

"Wow. It sure took you a while a realise it!" she said, trying not to laugh in front of him.

"WHAT!" Naruto yelled. "You knew too! Anyway, that's not the point. I would like to talk to her about it, but I don't want to risk losing her... What do you think I should do?" He looked sad, yet hopeful.

The Hyuga saw that he was sincere and that she really meant a lot to him, which caused a small smile to appear on her face. "And you came to see me because I've been there before. Isn't that right?" she asked him.

"Well, it was Shikamaru's idea." defended himself Naruto.

"Don't worry. It's a great idea. You know, I thought the same about you years back. I didn't want to confess to you and then lose you as a friend. I had decided not to tell you my feelings because I thought I wouldn't be able to live without you around." She said as he bowed down his head. "But after some time, I realised that I couldn't continue to lie to myself. It was hurting me more to be around you while you didn't know how I felt than being away from you. In the end, I chose the most dramatic moment to tell you, but I was about to tell you anyway..."

"But how do I make sure she won't laugh at me or something?" he said in a comic way, trying to lighten the mood. She gave him a stare that meant 'are you kidding me' and he smiled. However, he became serious again a moment after. "But more seriously, how do I know if she's over _him_?" he said with a sad look on his face.

Hinata understood right away what he meant. "I know it's still rough for her, but I think she realises now that Neji wouldn't like to see her like that and..."

She was cut off by Shino and Sasuke who entered loudly inside the house, out of breath. They had visibly ran really fast to get there quickly. Naruto was getting worried, as a weird feeling was going through his head. "What happened. What are you two doing here?"

The Uchiha looked at the Hokage and spoke. "Shikamaru told us we'd find you here. Our patrol team have spotted enemies nearby. An entire army! Over 700 soldiers according to the first reports."

"Damn it, damn it, damn it." shouted Naruto, getting up quickly. "Okay. Shino, stay with Hinata. In her state, she can't defend herself. Sasuke, come with me to my office. I hereby place the village in A-rank emergency."

They all nodded and as Naruto and Sasuke were running towards the Hokage Tower, Hinata embraced her husband with all her might. They started walking slowly towards the civilian shelters and Shino swore under his breath to protect his 2 girl, no matter what...

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

There it is. Chapter 9. Hope you enjoyed. Once again, the next one will be the last, and it shouldn't take too long before I upload it. Please review, always appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10: Final act

Finally, chapter 10 is in. I know it has been a while since the last chapter, but this one is very long. About 2.5 times what a usual chapter length is. Still, read, enjoy, and please review.

Once again, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Chapter 10: Final act

"I still don't understand Maki-sama... Why wouldn't you let us pursue those patrollers before! They must have alerted the Hidden Leaf as we speak!"

The army had made an halt a couple of kilometers away from the outer walls of Konoha, and Maki and his lieutenants were discussing under a big oak tree.

"It doesn't matter if they know we're coming. Remember that the big attack at the main gate is only to lure the Leaf shinobis outside the village so I can take care of the Hokage." reminded Maki. "If they're waiting for us, they'll just play according to my plan!"

"You're right Maki-sama." continued another man. "But I'm pretty sure they were able to see your face. If the Hokage knows you're the one attacking the village, he'll be protected for sure!"

"I know he will be, and I know who will." he told him, glancing at Kitomi behind him. "And that's part of my plan as well!"

* * *

Only 2 or 3 minutes after Shikamaru and Sasuke had warn Naruto about the upcoming army, everyone was inside his office at the Hokage Tower. The three of them were with Kakashi, Sai and Sakura and were discussing strategies.

"From what the patrol told us, they seem to be heading for the main gate." told calmly the Nara to his colleagues. "Therefore, I think we should await them there and stop them before they even set foot inside the village."

Kakashi and Sai argued with Shikamaru about his idea for a moment before they were cut short by someone entering the office. It was Ino, who seemed to have run as fast as she could since she was barely catching up her breath.

"Bad news" she finally said as everyone looked at her, worried. "Another patrol as arrived and they say they have identified the leader of the army. From how they described him, I'm sure it's that Maki guy from a couple weeks ago."

Everyone was shocked. Naruto's eyes met Kakashi's and they understood each other right away. "Damn it! He's going to use his Genjutsu of his on our ninjas and take them out one by one! His technique is flawless, except against me..." the blond said, his blood almost boiling from rage inside of him.

"No! It all makes sense now!" shouted Shikamaru as he seemed to have understand everything. "All of this is only a trap to get to Naruto!"

He saw 6 pairs of eyes staring at him, clueless, and realised he'd need to explain some more. "How troublesome you are... See, if Maki really wanted to attack the village, he could just do it on his own and take us down one by one. However, he can't do that with Naruto around, since the Kyuubi protects him from the Genjutsu."

They all nodded as he spoke, and Shikamaru continued. "Then, why would he bring an army that big without trying to hide it or something? Because he wanted us to see it. He wants our forces to fight his army while he can fight Naruto one on one. I think the army is only there to force us to leave Naruto alone."

The reasoning was flawless. Shikamaru had to be right. It made perfect sense. However, they had to defend the village with all their strength, considering how big the army was. They kept discussing possible ideas to work it out until they heard someone yell from the city streets. "They're here! The army is at the gate!"

Everyone started freaking out but Naruto. He kept his anger under control for a moment and gave his orders. "Alright. The village is, from now on, placed in S-rank emergency. All the civilians are to be escorted to the shelters and protected by the Genins. All Chuunins and Jonins, whether they are inside or outside the village, must converge to the main gate at once. Sakura, tell Shizune and Tsunade to get the hospital ready to take care of the wounded. I'll take care of Maki myself." He didn't await for an answer and was about to leave when the Nara blocked the door of the office in order to stop him.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but we can't leave him to you only. If ever he manages to get you, we won't be able to make it. His victory will be assured." Shikamaru said.

Naruto's fists were getting tighter and tighter by the seconds. How could Shikamaru even consider he could lost his fight. He felt the urge to punch him in the throat, but was stopped when Sasuke placed his hand on his shoulder. "I'll protect him then. Not only do we fight well together, but we've faced this Maki guy before. We will win." he said.

Everyone inside the office nodded. They would have preferred to leave more ninjas to protect the Hokage, but the situation had made it impossible. "Fine. Sasuke and I will take care of Maki. Shikamaru, you will be in charge at the main gate. You have all of our military forces under your command. Stop them." said Naruto with a straight face.

Everyone except Naruto and Sasuke then left the office, heading on the battle field to defend their village. The blond shinobi turned towards his friend. "When do you think he'll come?"

"In no time. I guess he's on his way as we speak..." answered the Uchiha.

* * *

They saw Konoha's gate right in front of them. Leaf ninjas were already gathering in front of it and on top of the walls, ready to defend it with their life.

"We're ready. They are as well..." said Maki to his lieutenants. "Our paths split here. Give us time to take care of the Hokage, and I guarantee you a victory when we come back."

"Yes sir!" they all shouted at the same time. Seconds later, Kitomi and Maki were gone. The lieutenants then turned towards the army and the walls of the village. At that moment appeared a ninja with a black spiky ponytail, followed by a white haired man, a blond kunoichi and a straight black hair shinobi.

"I think those are their leaders. We must attack before they figure out a strategy." said one of the lieutenants to the others, and everyone nodded in agreement. "CHARGE!" he then yelled and the army ran for the gate, weapon in hands.

* * *

Shikamaru, Kakashi, Ino and Sai had just arrived at the gate when the army had charged. They tried to search for Maki but he wasn't with them. They didn't have time to think about a strategy, so Shikamaru ordered what seemed the most obvious think to do.

"Throw your kunais and shurikens. Keep them away from the gate!" he yelled at the Leaf ninjas. They quickly understood and they began throwing all sorts of long range weapons.

Some warriors of the army were touched and killed, but the amount of projectiles was too small to stop them all. Shikamaru got worried. "We need more time, I need more time to think." he said to himself before yelling some more. "Keep throwing. Stop them from advancing!"

"I got this Shikamaru." said a feminine voice behind him. Before he could do anything, a shadow passed over his head. It had the form of a women with open scrolls in both of her hands. In an instant, a cloud of smoke appeared where the scroll were and all sorts of weapon were thrown at the army. Seeing how much projectiles were aimed at them, the whole army stopped in their track.

"It seems I'm just in time!" said the girl as she landed in front of Shikamaru.

"Tenten! What are you doing here!" said Ino, surprised to see her friend on the front line.

"Well, all the shinobis have been called on the battlefield, if I'm not mistaken!" she said, giving her friends a big smile as she saw their concerned looks. "Don't worry, I'm all set and ready to fight!"

Her assurance and confidence reassured her friends, as Ino, Sai and Kakashi lined up next to her in a fighting stance.

"We'll gain some time for you, Shikamaru. Think of a way to defeat these opponents, and we will block their path for the moment." told the Copy ninja to the Nara.

The lazy shinobi understood his role right away and placed himself in his thinking pose. At the same time, Tenten took 2 other scrolls from her belt and began throwing some more weapons and Sai made his Super Beast Scroll technique to make a dozen of fighting ink lions. Then, Kakashi jumped in the crowd, showing his sharingan eye and using his chidori, while Ino used her Shitenshin no Jutsu to take control of one of the warrior. In just a moment, the army was panicked and backed up to better face their opponents.

* * *

From within the Hokage tower, Naruto and Sasuke could hear the noises coming from the battlefield. The blond shinobi could barely contain himself and was shaking from all his limbs.

"I can't believe I have to stay here while everyone else is fighting at the gate. I should protect them!" he shouted, as he started walking in a circle inside his office.

"For the hundredth time, you'll have an important job to do as well, Naruto. We just have to wait before it comes to us." said Sasuke in a bored tone. He was sitting in Naruto's chair as they both waited for Maki to come to them.

"But what if Shikamaru was wrong?" the Hokage said. "What if Maki is still over there, hurting our friends with his damn jutsu? Have you thought about that?!"

Sasuke just sighed. At 23 years old, Naruto was as dumb as ever. And he was the Hokage... The Uchiha sighed again before he turned to look by the window. Below them, in the streets, he saw 2 figures running towards the Hokage tower and enter it. "Here they are..." he said to himself before he spoke to Naruto. "Get ready dobe, they have arrived."

As the both of them backed away from the door, positioning themselves in a fighting stance, Maki and a younger girl entered the office. "Looks like they've been awaiting us, my dear Kitomi." said Maki.

The girl was about Naruto's and Sasuke's age. With a fierce look in her eyes, she stared at both shinobis. "Which one of them is Sasuke Uchiha?" she asked her partner while she grabbed her katanas.

Maki didn't even had time to respond when the black haired ninja stepped forward and spoke. "I'm Sasuke. Who are you and what do you..."

He couldn't finish his sentence before the girl, apparently named Kitomi, was running to him with both her blades up, ready to strike. The last Uchiha grabbed his own katana quickly and blocked hers. She grinned at him as she swung her foot at his legs, making him trip backward. While he was still unbalanced, she punched him so hard that he flew through the window and fell in the street below. She jumped through the broken window to follow him, yelling "I'll make you pay, Uchiha!"

Naruto was confused, but still kept his eyes on Maki. He knew his friend and he was confident that Sasuke would handle that girl, even considering her great skills and strength. He still hadn't move since his enemy had entered the room, and he now had gathered enough natural energy to enter Sage mode.

"What do you want Maki?" Naruto told him with his eyes now yellowish and frog-like. "You want me to destroy you like last time?"

"Oh." simply answered Maki. "You just took me by surprise that time. And you're dead wrong if you think it'll be that easy now!" His voice and his glare were confident and arrogant.

"You won't be as cocky in a couple of minutes." the Hokage said just as 2 Kage bunshin appeared next to him in a cloud of smoke. In an instant, they each had a rasengan in both their hands.

"You fool. You won't get me twice with the same technique. It doesn't matter if you now have six of them!" Maki yelled, stating his overconfidence.

He was grinning widely. However, his arrogant expression quickly changed as each rasengan grew in size. Their diameter was now the same as Naruto's height. They were so big that they didn't totally fit in the small office, causing some holes in the walls and ceiling. "Senpo, Odama Rasengan!" the clones yelled before launching themselves towards Maki. As they landed, a giant explosion occurred and the building fell to the ground.

* * *

Back at the main gate, the fight was slowly but steadily turning against the Leaf shinobis. With the element of surprise, Kakashi, Sai, Ino and Tenten had managed to make the army move back towards the forest. However, they had just regrouped and had been able to launch a structured attack towards the 4 ninjas.

They were now getting the advantage on them. Tenten had used all her scrolls and was now fighting with a kunai in each hand. Ino couldn't use her Shitenshin no Jutsu, as her opponents were now moving too quickly. So, she had to fight in close combat, same with Sai and Kakashi. They were quickly surrounded by their enemies, but were saved by a squad of Konoha ninjas who entered the battlefield, piercing through the army ranks.

"Kakashi! Sai! Ino! Tenten! Quickly! Retreat to the walls! We'll take it from here!" shouted a voice who they recognized to be Kiba's.

They understood and jumped back on top of the village's outer wall, assembling around Shikamaru.

"Finally, have you found a strategy to save our butts, Shikamaru?" asked Ino. She had a small grin on her face, even though she was still trying to catch her breath.

"Of course... Troublesome woman..." he sighed, but her teammate heard him.

"What did you say?!" she shouted at him, before being held back by Kakashi.

"So, what's that plan of yours?" asked him the silver-haired jônin.

"Listen carefully, because you'll take part of it after recovering some energy and chakra." As they nodded, the lazy shinobi continued. "I split our defences in 3 squads. The four of you will be in the 3rd squad. We then attack by waves. For a minute or so, the 1st squad attacks the army in close combat, while the 2nd squad supports them by casting long range jutsu or by throwing kunais and shurikens. The 3rd squad spreads on the wall and makes sure that no enemies have passed through our defence and, at the same time, recover their energy. After the minute, we rotate. 2nd squad goes to the front, 3rd squad supports, and 1st squad comes back to the wall. That way, we all get the chance to recover a little, and we'll be able to defend the wall for a longer time. Any questions?"

The four ninjas were impressed. How did he think about such an elaborate plan in such a short time! I guess you could expect that from the son of Shikaku Nara, but still!

However, their smiles were quickly replaced by a worried expression as they heard a large explosion noise, coming from the center of the village.

"Damn it, Naruto. Control yourself..." sighed Shikamaru, but deep down, he felt like something was wrong. It had been a long time since he had felt like this. More precisely, around 7 years ago.

Without any warning, Tenten jumped from the wall, towards the village. She had barely landed but then she felt like she was paralysed. She looked down to see that she had been caught in the Nara shadow technique.

"We must not leave the battlefield. Naruto and Sasuke told us that they would handle Maki. We must trust them." Shikamaru shouted at the weapon expert.

"No, it's not what you think. I just need to grab some other scrolls at my place. I'll be back in a moment." lied Tenten. She then grabbed an explosive tag, made it explode next to her, and the flash of light temporally broke the Nara's shadow. She then ran towards the center of the village, fists tightly clenched.

"Your apartment is the other way!" yelled angrily Shikamaru, but he was calmed down when Ino put her hand on his shoulder.

"There's no point stopping her. She's in love. She would have go anyway..." she said softly, and the Nara calmed down. "Let's focus on our task at hand." They both nodded and turned towards the battlefield.

* * *

On their side of what used to be the Hokage tower, Sasuke and Kitomi were fighting with all they had. The last Uchiha had tried to use his Sharingan early in the fight to go help his friend quickly, but Kitomi would never make eye contact with him. And when he tried to slice her up with his katana, she would just block him with her blades and counter attack rapidly.

"You're indeed a great fighter..." admitted Sasuke in between two attacks. Their katanas were hitting each other so hard that sparks appeared each time someone blocked an attack.

"Ever since you killed my sister, I have been preparing myself to deal with you. I trained day and night, and now I'll finish you. Here and now!" she yelled, jumping towards him.

"I hate repeating myself, but I haven't killed your sister." Sasuke shouted, protecting himself from the girls blades. "You told me your sister was with Maki when they first kidnapped a Leaf kunoichi. I indeed fought her, but I paralysed her and continued on my way. I have not killed her."

Even though Sasuke kept explaining Kitomi that he was innocent, the girl was in a frenzy state and was launching attacks left and right. She was really quick, which made the job even more tough for the Uchiha. After a moment, both opponents stepped back, panting.

"Stop lying to me." the girl said to Sasuke. "Maki-sama told me everything. He saw you killing my sister. And to help me get my revenge, he has trained me, shown me how you filthy Uchiha fight. And now, I will make you pay!" As soon as she had stopped talking, she ran again for the black haired shinobi.

While he blocked each of her powerful attacks, he thought about what his opponent had just said. Maki hadn't seen their fight! He had asked that Hotaru girl to stop both him and Naruto as he was fleeing with Tenten. So why those lies? And why train a girl specifically to fight an Uchiha? All of a sudden, he understood.

"Maki has been manipulating you. You must realise that!" he shouted at her, still evading what could have been deadly hits. "I have not killed your sister, but Maki just wanted someone to fight me while he took Naruto one on one. Actually, I'm pretty sure that he must have killed her, since she wasn't able to stop us that day."

As she heard those words, she started to slow down. Was she doubting Maki's words? Sasuke took his opportunity to strike, but not with his weapon. "You know, it's not too late. We can stop this fight at once and defeat this scum of Maki. Together, you and me." he told Kitomi, trying to make her stop this insanity.

However, it was quite the opposite. The girl disappeared in a blur, and before Sasuke could move, she pierced through his chest with her 2 katanas. The Uchiha coughed some blood, but as Kitomi tried to move away, she felt numb and was immobilized.

"What the... What is happening to me?" she said, still totally paralysed.

"I still have some tricks up my sleeves, girl. I have paralysed you by sending some of my Raiton chakra into you via your blades. If I fall, I won't be the only one..." Sasuke told her with a grin on his face. From his right hand, Kitomi saw some blue electrical chakra forming, and she heard the sound of a thousand birds coming from there as well. In an ultimate effort, he pierced through her heart with his chidori, killing her on the spot.

Her body fell backward, and the Uchiha fell on his knees. He had lost a lot of blood and knew he would pass out soon. He looked at her lifeless face, a sad expression on his. "You were too dangerous to be left alive. I'm sorry for everything, but hopefully, you'll meet your sister soon." he said just before his eyes closed and he lost consciousness.

* * *

At the same time, on the other side of the pile of rubble that used to be the Hokage Tower, Naruto was leaning over the inert body of Maki. It was covered in rubble and was barely recognizable with the pool of blood in which it was bathing.

The Hokage released the rest of the natural energy to exit sage mode, and all of a sudden, Maki's body disappeared. Naruto tried to understand what had happened, but he was punched in the back of the head and flew a good 10 yards in the air before landing hard on the ground of the street. He turned his head to see who had hit him and saw Maki, in flesh and bones, good as new.

As he wondered what could have happened, his opponent was running towards him with a heavy mace made out of a Doton jutsu. The blond shinobi tried to get up and defend himself, but he was still dizzy from the hit he took to his head and was smashed by the mace in the stomach. He flew again a good distance above ground and finished his course on a thick wall.

In front of him, Maki was laughing loudly. Still clueless about what had happened, Naruto asked the Kyuubi for explanation.

"It seems simple to me, kid. When you enter sage mode, I let you gather natural energy. I guess he used his Genjutsu technique at the same time, so you absorbed his chakra as well. The image you first saw was his Genjutsu, and when you exited sage mode, you released his chakra, which is why the body disappeared." Kurama told him.

Damn it. The Nine-tailed fox had to be right. It was the only explanation. When Maki saw the Hokage's expression change, he smiled at his opponent. "So, it seems that you have finally understood." he told the blond ninja. "But now, it's too late. You're in no shape to fight. I'll kill you right here, right now!"

"You think so..." the Hokage said, getting back on his feet. "I'll show you what I'm made of!" He was about to run towards his opponent, but just fell down, his face on the ground.

"Yes I think so!" Maki yelled at him. "As soon as I touched you with my Doton technique, I was sure to win. This mace, you see, breaks all the bone that it touches. I just broke lot of your ribs as well as your lumbar vertebrae. Therefore, you're now paralysed from the hips down!"

Knowing his resistance to shock, Naruto knew that his spinal column wasn't broken, but he indeed couldn't feel his legs. His nerves were probably just damaged, but that didn't matter. He was vulnerable and, for the first time in a long while, he was scared as hell.

* * *

Tenten was running as fast as she could. She had passed through half of the village in less than 2 minutes and was now in sight of the Hokage tower. Or should I say, in sight of where the Hokage tower should have been. As she approached quietly, she saw 2 bodies lying on the ground next to the other. As she got closer, she saw it was Sasuke's body next to another girl's body. However, she had a hole in her chest.

She patted his face softly to wake him up, which he did after a minute or so.

"Tenten... what are you doing here..." he whispered, visibly suffering from exhaustion and heavy blood loss.

"When I heard the explosion, I came here as fast as I could... Are you alright, Sasuke?" she asked him, worried.

"Yes, I do. But my fight is over. Find Naruto. I should have been the one to help him, but I can't fight anymore." Sasuke said, before smiling lightly and whispering. "Anyway, you came for him, didn't you... You... you love him, right?"

Tenten blushed, which made Sasuke's smile just wider. He closed his eyes, passing out again. Tenten lit up a flare next to him, to signal the medics that someone needed treatment over here and she began searching for Naruto.

* * *

Naruto had managed to sit down, facing his opponent. He was struggling to fight in this position, but it was his only option.

He had tried to use the Kyuubi's chakra to enter Bijuu mode, but couldn't sustain it for more than a couple seconds. "It seems your Chakra flow is disrupted by whatever injuries you received from his Doton jutsu. You can't stand the power of my chakra with just half of your body." Kurama had told him when Naruto had wondered why Bijuu mode wasn't working.

The blond shinobi could only block his opponent's attack, but Maki kept gaining the advantage over him. It is then that the Hokage would use his Bijuu mode, making his enemy back off an instant, then charge again. This had been the routine for the past 10 minutes or so. Both man were worn down, and Maki was boiling with rage.

"How come I can't beat a damn ninja who's just sitting on his butt." he yelled to release his anger, while a small grin appeared on Naruto's face. "And you think it's funny, do you! I'll show you something funny!" And in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

Naruto tried to locate him, but it was too late. Maki was almost on him. With no other options left, he used again the Kyuubi's chakra, but his enemy was able to avoid the shock wave when the fox's chakra was released. He could have ended the fight there, but as he ran to the defenceless Hokage, he stopped to evade 2 kunais, who landed at his feet.

Both Maki and Naruto looked in the direction they had come from. Tenten was standing on top of the pile of rubble and was staring at Maki with a deadly glare.

"Tenten! Get the hell away from here!" Naruto screamed, but was cut off by Maki.

"Well well. You're back, girl." he said. "Didn't you learned your lesson the first time we met?"

"Now I know your tricks. You won't get me with the same technique twice!" she shouted confidently.

"Let's see about that!" he yelled back. He made a couple hand seals and, as he finished with the ram seal, he grinned widely. "I got you girl!"

Immediately, Tenten fell to the ground, face down. She didn't move a finger as Maki walked towards her, a kunai in hand, ready to finish her. He bent down next to her inert body and turned her over to slit her throat. However, his expression drastically changed when he saw the huge smile on her face. It was already too late. Half a second later, she had pierced his heart with 2 kunais, and he was falling on his back.

Tenten got up and dashed towards Naruto. "Are you alright? Are you injured? Talk to me Naruto!"

"It's okay, I'm good. I just can't move my legs, but I'm fine." he told her, posing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

She wanted to reply but they heard coughing sound coming from Maki's body. The damn guy wasn't dead yet! She grabbed one of Naruto's kunai and slowly walked towards her enemy's body, ready to kill him once and for all.

"I'm dying, girl. There is no need to be so worried." he said, still coughing blood every once in a while. "I just want to know... How did you escape my jutsu..."

"I used to train with one of my teammates. A Hyuga." she told him. "I learned how to close my own Tenketsus for a short time when we sparred."

"I see. It wasn't as flawless as I thought in the end..." he said, then expired his last breath. He was dead.

Tenten staggered and fell next to Naruto, exhausted. He barely caught her and they both laid down, staring at the sky.

"You know, it really was a reckless thing to do. To come here to save me..." Naruto told her. "I wouldn't have forgiven myself if you'd been hurt again." He had blushed while saying the later part.

"Actually, as soon as I heard the explosion, I got worried." she said. "And after you saved me twice already, it was my turn to save you."

"No. You don't understand." he continued, blushing in an even darker shade of red. "You've suffered too much already, and it kills me inside when I see you hurt like that. I guess... it's because I... care about you. A lot." He paused and thought for a moment. Should he tell her, or should he not. He should. "Tenten, I..."

He was cut off as she kissed him lightly on his lips. At first, he was surprised, but then felt relieved that she indeed felt the same way as he did. When their lips separated, he took a deep look in her light brown eyes and he saw happiness.

"I love you, Naruto. And I know you do too. I saw it in your eyes." she told him, as softly as she could.

"I was about to say the same exact thing." Naruto said, scratching the back off his head. "And I love you too, Tenten. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you, ever again." They kissed again, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

When Shizune, Sakura and the medical team arrived on the site of the fight, they discovered the two of them embracing themselves, fast asleep. As they approached them, Tenten and Naruto woke up simultaneously, making the pink haired kunoichi smiled.

"Are you two... alright?" asked a confused Shizune.

"Yes, we'll be alright. I just don't feel my legs, but otherwise, it's all good." said Naruto.

"Baka..." said Sakura. "I thought you'd never tell her how you were feeling..." She giggled as he blushed a dark red.

"Just take care of my legs, will you?" Naruto sighed.

"Actually Sakura, you should go on the other side of those rubbles... Sasuke is injured as well. It's not life threatening, but he needs medical attention." Tenten said, but Sakura was gone before she even had finished, signaling in the distance at Shizune to take care of the Hokage.

"Alright Naruto. Don't move." Shizune told him. "It's just your nerve that is stuck between two vertebrae. I'll replace it and everything should be fine, but it'll hurt. Badly." Naruto bit on his shirt, expecting the worst.

* * *

Back at the main gate, the troops were still holding up the army, thanks to Shikamaru's strategy. However, the ninjas' energy level was getting very low, and the army was slowly getting the advantage.

"We must hold them a little longer!" shouted the Nara at his fellow shinobis, when one of them yelled from the walls.

"Naruto's coming! The Hokage is coming!"

Hearing the good news, the momentum of the battle shifted right away. The Leaf ninjas had some new found energy, and the army was getting scared.

"They're bluffing." yelled the lieutenants to the army. "Maki-sama is taking care of him. Do not get scared!"

However, at that time, Naruto appeared on the wall over the main gate of the Hidden Leaf village. "Who's bluffing?" he asked loudly to the army, but they were already fleeing. Just the sight of the Hokage had been enough to make them lose all hope, and they were running as fast as they could towards the forest. Leaf ninjas started pursuing them, but Naruto called them back.

"There is no need pursuing those ones. They were just blindly following Maki, and he's been dealt with already." he said.

In an instant, the injured shinobis were taken care of by the medical team and the rest of them were heading back inside the village. Shikamaru saw Tenten in the back, and, with Ino, went to see her.

"So... did you find your scrolls or did you find Naruto?" he sighed as the weapon expert blushed and stared at her feet.

"Well, you could say that we found each other. He asked me out on a date on our way back!" she said, smiling. Ino hugged her, happy for her friend. They both left as the Yamanaka was already planning shopping sessions with Tenten.

"Troublesome women..." Shikamaru sighed, but this time with a smile on his face, thinking about a certain blond ninja.

TO BE CONCLUDED...

* * *

This is it. Chapter 10. Again, sorry for the length, but I didn't feel like cutting it in 2 chapters. It seemed to important to me to keep it as one. Anyway, please take the time to review. The Epilogue should be uploaded shortly.


	11. Epilogue: 15 years later

Finally, the conclusion of _Can you expect the unexpected_. I would like to thank everyone who read this story and all those who reviewed it. It was my first fanfiction and I hope you liked it.

For the last time, I don't own Naruto. All rights to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**CAN YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED?**

Epilogue: 15 years later

Summer had started. It was a warm, sunny day as the former students of the Leaf Academy were leaving the building with their newly appointed Jounin Sensei.

The parents of the young shinobis were celebrating with their children, but a group of adults were still waiting for their small ones to join them.

After a moment, they saw Hinata Hyuga, who was there academy teacher, leave the building with a small group behind her.

"I now present you Team 4 of this year's promotion: Uzumaki Kimoshi, Uchiha Komura and Yamanaka Shin. Team 4 will be lead by their Jounin Sensei, Sarutobi Konohamaru." Hinata shouted to everyone waiting outside the Academy.

As the adults clapped their hands and cheered for the young ones, the trio gave a high-five to the 34 years old Konohamaru before they all ran in their parents arms.

Uzumaki Kimoshi gave her father, Naruto, a big hug before turning towards Tenten, her mother, and do the same. The 12 years old girl had long blond hair and deep brown eyes. Like her father, she was very loud and loved to get everyone's attention. For example, she had tried to prank Konohamaru when he met them moments ago, but he had avoided it, knowing who he was dealing with. She had learned a lot from her mother too, and was a flawless long-range ninja. Finally, like both her parents, she was very impulsive and spontaneous.

Yamanaka Shin, the son of Ino and Sai, had medium length blond hair, tied up in a short pony-tail, and black eyes. Sai had insisted to name him Shin in honor of his former brother from Roots. He had found in his wife and son a family, like he used to have all those years ago. Shin ran towards Ino and gave her a huge hug. The 12 years old boy and his mother had always shared the same over-the-top personality, which had always made Sai smile.

Uchiha Komura, on the other hand, was a far more reserved 12 years old boy. The son of Sasuke and Sakura had raven hair with glints of pink and dark black eyes. He was a very talented ninja, strong like his father and smart like his mother. He had had the best results in his promotion, but was very low profile about it. He really was like a copy of his father...

The three children knew each other very well. Since their parents were all friends, they had played a lot together as kids and a strong friendship had developed amongst them pretty early in their life. Therefore, when the time had arrived to form the teams, Naruto had joined them right away. And when he had been told the Konohamaru was finally willing to take a genin team, the Hokage had matched them.

"I think we should celebrate this." said Sakura, while still hugging her son in her arms.

"That's a great idea, Forehead!" answered Ino to her friend. "Let's all meet up somewhere to have dinner tonight!"

"Great! Let's all head to Ichiraku's and..." started Naruto, but he was cut off by everyone else.

"NO RAMEN!" they shouted to the Hokage.

"Okay, okay... Not this time... Anyway, it's still early. Let's head home, get ready, then we'll decide where to eat." said Naruto smirking, still hoping that Ichiraku's could be an option. "Will you come with us, Hinata?"

"Yes Naruto. Thank you. Shino and Shubi are still training, but we'll meet you tonight." said the Hyuga as she left to go back home.

Aburame Shubi was Shino and Hinata's daughter. At 15 years old, she was a chuunin and was now training with her father to pass the Jounin exam. She had her mother's hair and both her parents keikkei genkai, which means that she possessed the Byakugan and the ability to host and control the kikai bugs. Due to this particular trait, she was meant to be one of the strongest kunoichi in the history of Konoha.

"Alright. We'll leave as well and get ready. See you tonight." said Ino as she head back home with her family, waving at their friends.

"Same here. See you later!" said Sakura, dragging Komura and Sasuke with her.

"See you later... Kimoshi..." said Komura while blushing a little, which made Sasuke sigh. He knew his son liked the Hokage's daughter and was totally OK with it. However, Naruto had remarked it too and couldn't stop teasing him about it...

When only Naruto's family and Konohamaru was left, they all decided to walk together, since the Sarutobi compound was in the same direction as the Hokage's house.

"Neji. Come here, we're leaving." shouted Tenten to a little boy sitting on a swing at the back of the Academy yard. As soon as she called him, he got up and ran to his mother.

Uzumaki Neji was the second the youngest child of Naruto and Tenten. They had named him Neji in honor of their fallen friend and because, with his long dark hair and his very light blue eyes, he did looked like him.

The boy held his mother's hand while Kimoshi held her father's and they all walked towards their house.

"So, daddy. Are we getting our first mission tomorrow?" Kimoshi asked her father who nodded. "Good! But please, don't give us some boring missions! You're the Hokage after all, you can do that!"

"I've told you before, honey. You have to start at the beginning, like everyone else. There is no easy path leading to your dreams!" replied the Hokage to his daughter while Konohamaru smiled. "And honestly, I already have the perfect first mission for you guys."

"What is it! What is it!" shouted the young girl.

"The Daimyo's wife lost her cat again! And I know Konohamaru Sensei loves her cat!" Naruto said and started laughing, along with Tenten, while Konohamaru sighed deeply...

THE END!

* * *

Et voilà. This is the end. Once again, I hope you liked it. I don't plan to make a sequel of this, since I have other ideas for my next story. However, I won't post anything new for a while, since I'm entering the end of the semester and exams and raining on me!

Thanks to everyone who read, liked and reviewed this story.

FanFictionerVince


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